Christmas and Strippers
by emisonxx
Summary: Emily finds herself in a stripclub on Christmas Eve and catches the attention of a certain blonde stripper. Emison.
1. Chapter 1

Emily isn't sure how she wound up in a strip club of all places on the night before Christmas- her favorite fucking holiday. Or at least, it used to be. Ever since her parents had decided to split because the distance was too hard, and since her three close friends had drifted apart because of college, Emily was spending a miserable Christmas alone in Philadelphia, unwilling to be with her mother or father. She didn't want to pick sides.

And heaven forbid she even thought of going back to visit her abusive ex _Paige_. Just the name makes her sick.

The lights are so dim, Emily thinks she may actually be having trouble seeing the girls on stage. But she doesn't really care, she's not really sure why she's here. Well, she knows, she just isn't sure it's such a good idea.

Still, she sits there and tries to figure out what her next move should be.

"Hey gorgeous," she hears a sultry voice from beside her and looks up to see a stunningly attractive blonde. Her golden locks are cascading down her shoulders in curls and her soft baby face has radiating blue eyes that gaze longingly at Emily.

"H-h-h-I," Emily stutters and blushes so hard she wants to crawl under a table. But she can't help the way just the sight of this blonde's tiny, tight sexy body in crimson red lacy lingerie makes her insides twist and a familiar ache grow between her thighs instantly. She watches the smirk subside into a soft smile as the blonde looks her up and down.

"What's a nice looking girl like you doing in a place like this?"

"I don't know, honestly," Emily says quickly, and it's the truth- she feels very out of place.

"You have to have had a reason for coming," the blonde prods as she leans down, bending over sensually, and brushes a strand of hair behinds Emily's ear.

"I had nothing else to do, I don't know anyone here," Emily admits painfully and the blonde notices the actual emotion on her face.

"You can get to know me," the blonde says smiling as she slides into Emily's lap with ease, her smooth, soft legs straddling Emily's. "I'm Vivian."

"Emily," the brunette replies softly. "That's not your real name is it?"

"God no," the blonde laughs and shakes her head.

"That's not really getting to know you if you give me a fake name," Emily counters and the blonde thinks it's cute how innocent she seems.

"Let's go somewhere private then," she whispers in her ear and stands up, pulling the brunette with her. Emily has to tell herself repeatedly to not stare at the blonde's perfectly bubbly round ass that is barely covered by the lacy panties she wears.

The blonde leads her to one of the private rooms with a bodyguard outside it and whispers something to him. He nods, and Emily cowers a little as she is dragged in past the intimidating and large threatening man.

"Sit," the blonde pushes her into the couch.

"I don't have this kind of money," Emily admits embarrassedly but the dancer shrugs.

"I didn't ask you for any."

"Don't you need some-"

"I've already made my quota for the night," she reassures and climbs onto Emily's lap again. "And my real name is Alison."

She purrs into Emily's ear and the brunette whimpers from the heat of her breath hitting her ear.

"I like that much better than Vivian," Emily says as she tries to relax.

"So do I," Alison agrees as she begins to grind her hips against Emily.

"Wh-a-a-t are you doing?" Emily asks quickly and Alison can't help the grin that spreads across her face. This girl was so cute.

"Giving you a Christmas present," she says with a teasing face and her boobs are in Emily's face as she resumes gyrating her hips against Emily to the slow song in the background. She flips over so her back is against Emily's front, and she continues to grind her body against the brunette's- she can practically feel the nervousness radiating.

"Relax," she whispers and grabs one of Emily's hands. She slides it up and down her body and places Emily's hand on her left breast. But when the brunette doesn't really move, she grows antsy.

"Is that what you're like in bed? Boring and non responsive?" Alison goads her on but without a harsh tone.

"No," she hears Emily mumble and she sighs content as she feels the brunette squeeze and begin to grab her breast roughly.

"Mmm, like that," she whimpers as she feels her thumb flick over her nipple through the bra and she arches her back, tilting her head sideways and offering the stranger more access to her neck.

"Is this a Christmas present to you, or to me?" Emily mutters quietly but she's not complaining. She lets her teeth graze Alison's neck and she kisses the skin, sucking softly, and Alison can't help the moan that she releases.

"Here's a Christmas present for you," Alison says as she stands up. The song's beat is loud, and she sensually pulls of her bra and tosses it aside as she walks back up to Emily. The brunette can only stare at the sight of her perky breasts and clearly hard nipples. And she nearly cums just watching the blonde wiggle out of her panties and discard them as well.

"Woah," she breathes out and Alison giggles softly, enjoying the raw attraction.

"Like what you see?" Ali teases and swings around the pole in the middle of the room. She stops in front of Emily and slides up and down the pole carefully, and sticks her ass out- Emily thinks she might actually cum from just watching her and seeing her pussy glistening. She's never seen someone make something so crude look so beautiful.

"I should probably go," Emily says uncomfortably. She doesn't want Alison to think she's pathetic and watch her come undone without barely any touch.

But she watches the blonde frown and feels bad, like she just insulted her.

"Did I do something wrong?" Alison asks confused, her head tilting as she tries to observe the brunette. It's her job to be naked and exposed, but she feels too ashamed in front of this seemingly angelic girl to want to continue standing there completely bare.

"No, not it's not you," Emily insists as she stands up but the blonde doesn't want to let her escape so easily.

"Well uh wait, do you think you could take me home? My ride is one of the girls who closes, and she won't get off for another two hours. And I don't really want to be here any longer than I have to," Alison explains, hoping the brunette will relent.

"Um, okay," Emily says hesitantly and smiles when she sees the blonde's face light up. "You really trust a stranger to drive you home?"

"I can tell from the way you move, act, and speak the kind of person you are," Alison shrugs as she picks up her lingerie. "And if you turn out to be psycho…well…I can add that to my list of shit that happened to me lately."

"I promise I'm not psycho," Emily reassures quickly. She thinks quickly of Paige, the only person she would ever refer to as a true psychopath.

"Okay, then, I'm going to go change and I'll meet you by the door in five?"

"Sounds good," Emily answers and they split. The brunette tries to cool her body down, she doesn't want to be in a car with the hot blonde and not be able to focus on a thing she says. Before she knows it, Alison is standing by her in a cute Christmas sweater and jeans. Emily thinks it's strange how nice she looks in clothes rather than lingerie. It was a different kind of nice.

"Ready?"

Emily nods, and she leads Alison out to her car. The blonde gawks unknowingly for a second. She looks at Emily with wide eyes. "This is your car?!"

The brunette nods shyly, it's a newer BMW, and a gift from her dad in an effort to win her over to his side. But Emily isn't so easily swayed.

"No money my ass, you're holding out on me," Alison teases as she gets in the car.

"Well, I meant in cash and on me," Emily says back with a smile.

"What, are you a millionaire or something?"

"No, my parents are just well off," Emily shrugs. "Where do you live?"

Alison suddenly doesn't want to disclose her personal address- she doesn't want this_ rich_ angel to see the apartment she lived in on the less fortunate side of town.

"Uh, if you drop me off I can walk-"

"No way I'm not making you walk downtown at night," Emily says in horror.

"I don't really want to go home," Alison admits truthfully.

"Why's that?"

"I don't want to be alone," Alison says softly as she looks out the window and avoids Emily's gaze.

"You can be alone with me," Emily offers awkwardly and Alison smiles greatly at the offer.

"Really? You wouldn't mind?"

"No, I didn't want to be alone either," Emily admits.

The two of them make it to Emily's loft and Alison is surprised at just how nice the place is. She feels dirty as she walks in though she has no reason to. The place is just as clean and classy as the girl in front of her.

"Wine?" Emily offers and Alison nods vigorously. She wants anything to loosen her up so she doesn't feel awkwardly intrusive.

Emily hands a glass to her and as they begin to drink, Alison gets more hands on- more touchy. She tells Emily stories of her childhood, how her parents didn't pay any attention to her, how her brother was in and out of rehab for drug abuse, and how she had a twin that was locked away in a mental facility.

"Well you're here now," Emily says kindly as she really looks at Alison's face, mesmerized by the blue orbs. "At least you're not stuck with them."

Alison looks at her with such fond eyes, and she leans forward until her face is inches away from the brunette's. She watches as the brunette's eyes flutter close and hers do as well.

"Thank you," she whispers as her lips barely touch Emily's before she closes the distance and kisses her tenderly.

But their sweet moment is interrupted by pounding on the door.

"Emily! Emily open the door I know you're in there! Open up I want to talk!"

Alison looks at Emily who stares in shock at the door- _Paige._


	2. Chapter 2

**I have been in such a slump lately which is why my stories are being so delayed. But hopefully this works for now.**

Alison finds herself completely entranced by this innocent, beautiful angel in front of her. She seems flawless, as if she could do no wrong. The blonde knows nobody is perfect, but she figures that this girl Emily comes pretty damn close.

She isn't sure what exactly it is that compels her to spill her secrets to the gorgeous brunette (but she's pretty sure it's partly the warm fuzzy feelings from the wine). It may have been the way Emily gazed at her with unwavering attention, or the way Emily seemed to relax whenever Alison's hand touched her. It may have been some Christmas magic, which Alison didn't believe in but Emily did from what she could tell.

Her mind is pretty freed from the heavy chains of emotional burden she had been experiencing all week, and every other holiday season. It just felt natural to be here with this complete and total _stranger_. But Emily didn't feel foreign or unknown, she felt like home to Alison. She wondered if this is what it felt like to have someone to belong to, someone to come home to. The way Emily's gaze unraveled her very existence frightened her.

But she's quite ashamed that Emily met her in a strip club of all places and the nagging thought won't cease leave her. More so, she's embarrassed she was the stripper and Emily was the lost puppy. However, she knows Emily is aware of the fact, and she can tell the brunette keeps trying to reassure her she was there on purpose so she's not judging Alison.

The classy and aesthetically pleasing loft is everything Ali has ever dreamed of. She had been born into a lower-class city family, and when she moved out she had been struggling to barely pay rent on her own. School was out of the question, and so was any high paying job, other than stripping. She is grateful that Emily didn't ask a single question about her occupation. At some point in the conversation, Emily had turned on Christmas music (it was when the clock struck midnight, Ali muses). This evening is turning into one of Alison's greatest fantasies- a warm, loving holiday with someone so incredibly special in a majestic setting. And the place may not be majestic by any means to a normal person, but to Alison it is wonderful.

So when Emily looks at her kindly and says, "well you're here now, at least you're not with them", she watches chocolate brown eyes glance between her own eyes and her lips. She feels her body leaning in before she can stop herself.

(And truth be told she absolutely does not want to stop herself.)

Emily's eyes flutter close and Alison feels her own shutting as she smiles and whispers thanks to the brunette. She feels Emily's nervousness so she gently closes the distance and lets her lips collide with Emily's super soft lips. She practically melts at the feeling – she didn't know one person could make her feel so wanted with barely any touch.

And then the pounding and shouting at the door snaps her out of her moment. She looks worriedly at Emily who seems frozen in fear. Alison did _not_ like the tone of voice this person was using towards the sweet brunette.

"Who is it?" Ali asks under her breath as she puts her hand on Emily's leg.

"My ex," Emily whispers back.

Well, Alison certainly wasn't expecting that.

"What's she want?"

"I don't know, I haven't talked to her in a week," Emily mumbles weakly.

"I'll answer the door," Ali says protectively but Emily tugs on her hand to stop her.

"Don't, I don't want her to interrupt this," Emily said hesitatingly with a scared face.

"What exactly is this?" Alison asks in a low voice as she feels Emily tense a little bit. Was it out of fear? She slides into Emily's lap once more and caresses her face gently, soothing her hesitation.

"I don't know, but I like it," Emily murmurs, entranced by Alison.

Alison isn't used to someone seeing her for anything more than her body. She doesn't know how to feel when she watches Emily confide in her silently with pleading eyes about the screaming girl outside the door.

"Will she leave eventually?" Alison asks gently as she brings her hand around to play with Emily's hair.

"I'm sure," Emily whispers and watches Alison smiles back at her. She could get used to that lovely face.

"I'm sorry about back at the club," Emily sheepishly apologizes. "I didn't want to embarrass myself so I needed to leave. I didn't want to make you feel bad."

"Oh," Alison says realizing what Emily means. "It's okay-"

"EMILY open the door," Ali hears that obnoxious voice interrupt her and she gets up angrily.

"You don't have to," Emily tries to stop her but Alison smiles.

"I want to. I know how to defend myself," Ali winks as she saunters over to the door. Emily thinks she must have died and gone to heaven- the hottest little stripper has taken a liking to her, and turns out to be a very real, sweet girl who is now sounding very protective of her.

(And her round ass in those tight jeans bounces deliciously as she saunters.)

Before Emily can stop her, Alison flings the door open to reveal a very angry, drunk Paige. The blonde wrinkles her nose in disgust at the strong stench of alcohol and the nasty appearance of the girl in front of her- how could Emily ever have dated such an unpleasant looking person?

"Who the fuck are you?" the girl growls and Alison stands her ground, crossing her arms.

"I'm Alison, and you are?"

"Emily's girlfriend," Paige snaps and Alison rolls her eyes.

"I think you may be living in the past, you're her _ex_ girlfriend," Alison emphasizes for good measure.

"Where is she?" Paige growls stepping forward and Alison pushes her back, uncomfortable with how close she was getting. "Don't touch me."

"Stay back," Alison warns harshly. "You are_ not_ welcome here."

"Emily!" Paige yells and Alison turns around to see the brunette cowering and shyly walking up to the doorway.

"Babe go sit down, I'll take care of this, " Alison says naturally, the pet name flowing instinctively as she grabs Emily's hand and squeezes it to let her know its okay. Emily glances back between the two of them, unsure.

"Who the fuck is this whore?!" Paige snarls and Alison whips around angrily. Her eyes flash with fury and it catches the drunk girl off guard.

"I'm not a whore, but I'm fucking ten times hotter than you'll ever be," Alison snaps snidely, danger clear in her voice. "And I'm going to make Emily feel so good she's going to forget anyone else ever touched her."

"You fucking bitch!"

Paige lunges at Alison who dodges her and aggressively grabs her by the shirt and throws her straight across the hallway. She steps outside and glares down the girl on the floor.

"Leave Emily alone, she deserves much better than a rat like you," Alison hisses. "I deal with rats all day long, and I know one when I see one. Get back to your low life activity before I make you wish you never came here."

Paige looks up menacingly but scrambles to her feet and stomps off in a rage.

Ali slams the door shut, satisfied. She turns around to see the brunette with her jaw dropped. The blonde smiles wearily and goes over to the brunette, taking her hands into her own and holding them.

"What was that?" Alison finally asks.

"She was…angry a lot of the relationship," Emily tries to explain.

"So she was abusive," Alison says with a raised eyebrow. Her thumb rubs Emily's skin in an effort to calm her down.

"Not always," Emily argues weakly and Ali shakes her head.

"Emily, you're way too good to tolerate something like that, you have too much to offer," she says kindly and Emily smiles widely, her emotions soaring because of the blonde.

"Come on, let's get to bed," Alison says with a grin. She makes a move for the bedroom but she stops and she watches as Emily tenses up, the brunette's body suddenly going very still. Her eyebrows knit together worriedly and she's afraid she's suddenly pushing the beautiful girl's boundaries. The words had just come so naturally to her- she hadn't even thought about how it sounded.

"We don't have to sleep together, I was just assuming, I mean I shouldn't assume, it's okay, if you're not comfortable with me cause of where I work-"

"No," Emily's eyes widen in horror, realizing what the blonde thinks. "No that's not it. I mean I have questions but that's different."

She pauses, trying to make sure Alison believes her before she continues.

"I just don't want to come off as really easy or something, after Paige I don't want people to take advantage of me," Emily admits. "Not that I think you would."

Alison stands surprised because that was definitely not what she expected to hear.

"I don't want you to feel that way, I promise," Alison says hoarsely. "You're not the easy or weak one Emily. I'm the one who works at a strip club, I'm the one who just confessed all of my secrets to you within hours of meeting you."

"I don't care that you work at-"

"Seriously try and tell me that it doesn't bother you at all," Alison says slowly starting to feel worse about herself than before. Her own self esteem is clawing at the surface of her existence. She can't escape the way it's telling her she doesn't deserve poor Emily in front of her.

"It doesn't," Emily reiterates but she doesn't look all that convinced.

"Then why would being with me make you easy?" Alison asks sadly, taking what Emily said in the complete wrong way. "Because I'm easy?"

"That's not what I meant-"

"Do you not feel it? You don't feel what I feel?"

"Alison that's not it at all-"

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have bothered you," Alison says feeling tears pricking at her eyes. "I shouldn't have come here."

She can't hold eye contact with Emily any more and she tries to shake her head and run away.

"I'm so sorry," she repeats and grabs her sweater and heads for the door.

"Don't," Emily grabs her wrist and pulls her back. She looks like she has tears in her own eyes and Alison isn't proud of the fact that things have suddenly gone so wrong, mostly because of her. "Please don't. I don't want to be alone tonight."

"Is that why you brought me back here? Bring the stripper home with you, she'll keep you company until you feel pathetic about it," Alison says frustrated and not truly believing every word she says. She's not really talking to Emily, she's more talking to herself. The words are her own insecurities.

She doesn't mean to accuse Emily of doing such wrong things. But she truly believes she has to push Emily away- she doesn't deserve to have someone like Emily. Not somebody like her.

"Tha-a-a-t's not why, Alison I'm s-s-s-orry I'm not used to this," Emily stutters, panic seeping into her. She didn't mean to phrase her words like that- she is having trouble opening up again, she can hardly say out loud that she findsAlison attractive much less that she really wants her to stay.

"Emily, you'll be better off without a girl like me," Alison says softly but she doesn't even believe what she's saying.

Emily stands, frozen. Her thoughts have come to a screeching halt. She doesn't know how to tell Alison that she may be apprehensive because she doesn't know how experienced the blonde is and she doesn't want to feel _inadequate_.

She doesn't want to assume that just because Alison barely wears clothes at her job that she'll sleep with anyone, because she thinks she can see more to this girl than sexual appeal.

Alison tries to turn and leave, but she can't help herself- she turns back around and throws herself at the brunette, kissing her with complete need, her tongue dominating Emily's. Emily feels her head spinning, and her thoughts stopping completely. She can feel Alison's body squirming against her desperately, and she doesn't want to break the kiss ever. The blonde's hands slide up her shirt and grip the material by her shoulder, clinging onto the brunette for hope.

"I'm sorry," she whispers again as they pull apart, her hand still gripping Emily's shirt tightly. She doesn't realize that she's shaking until she notices Emily staring down at her fingers. Before the brunette can protest, Alison rips herself away and turns and leaves. The door shuts with a bang.

Alison runs outside and is hit with a gust of freezing cold wind. She didn't actually think this through- she doesn't have a lot of money on her and she doesn't have a car. But she has too much pride to turn around and run back into Emily's apartment asking for help.

She whips out her phone. "Hey, Cece, I know it's late, and you've probably left by now, but do you think you can pick me up?"

X

Emily sits in her loft alone late in the next morning. She stares out the window at the snow falling. It's magical, the city looks splendid with the snowfall and it smells like Christmas outside. But Emily can't forget about Alison, who she has deemed as the whirlwind blonde.

She tries to busy herself cleaning, cooking, and scrolling through social media- but she's lonely, and she really felt a connection with the stripper girl. Alison protected her from Paige, and she made her feel deeply wanted.

So on a whim, she Google searches the name of the strip club she was at last night. She checks to see if they're open today- and they are. There also happens to be a list of performers for the day and the times. Carefully, she looks for the name Vivian. As soon as her eye sees those six little letters, she grabs her jacket and sprints out the door. She has thirty three minutes before Vivian's shift is over.

X

Out of breath and shivering (yet sweating from the hurry), Emily walks briskly into the strip club- and she's a little sickened by how many people are in an establishment like this on her favorite holiday. But she's not here to judge anyone, and most certainly is not about to judge her new favorite blonde.

She looks around cautiously and sits at the bar, trying to survey the whole area. Then, suddenly, she sees her.

Alison is curled up in some guy's lap, topless, with a very skimpy thong on. She helplessly stares as she watches the older man barely refrain from groping the blonde. Seeing a big buff security guy standing inches away doesn't do anything to ease the knots that are suddenly forming in her stomach.

On the one hand, Alison looks dangerously sexy in this environment- the dim red lights, her perfectly done hair, and her flawless, bare, toned body. Her body never seems to bend into a bad pose.

On the other hand, Emily does _not_ want to watch an almost naked Alison drape herself all over sleazy strangers.

The brunette watches with nausea as the blonde smiles fondly at the man and lets her hand run through his hair. Emily begins to think that maybe she's made a huge mistake in coming here.

Alison drags her hips across the man's pelvis and teasingly presses her chest against him as she continues to grind against him.

That does it- Emily has to get up and leave, she can't handle watching something like that. She curses herself for feeling so pathetic, but before Paige, she had only been with one other girl, sexually. And, she knows that the short but intense hours she had spent with Alison had left her attached helplessly to the blonde.

So she gets up in an attempt to leave. In her haste and discomfort, she accidentally collides with another body and she hears glass shatter as she falls to the ground with the other person. She sees blonde hair as she gains her bearings and focuses on the face in front of her. It couldn't be Alison though- and it wasn't.

It was another blonde with very similar features to Ali.

"Oh my god I'm so sorry," the new stripper says apologetically as she looks Emily up and down. "And oh my god you are totally stunning."

"Thanks," is all Emily can manage as she sits up and looks in the direction of the Alison. She sees bright blue eyes shimmering with worry, and she notices how tense and distracted from the man Alison looks all of a sudden.

The brunette can't even focus on anything this blonde in front of her is saying when Alison is looking at her with those intense blue orbs. She watches as Alison leans over and whispers something to the man and tries to get up off him. He tries to flash a pervy smile and convince her to stay but she pulls away from him, rushing hurriedly over to the brunette still on the floor.

"Emily," Alison says in shock and Emily has to force her eyes to focus on her face and not Alison's delightfully tempting tits in front of her.

"Emily? Like the Emily whose place I picked you up from last night?" the other blonde asks.

"Yes," Alison says softly, her eyes fixed on the nervous brunette's face. "Cece this is Emily. Emily, Cece."

The two look at each other politely, but Emily can barely pull her eyes away from the gorgeous figure she's dreamnt about all night.

Alison extends her hand and pulls Emily to her feet. She cautiously wraps her arms around her, and Emily feels unwanted heat shoot straight to her core at the feeling of the blonde hugging her with her bare body.

"Come on, I'm assuming you want to talk," Alison says gently. "Let's go to one of the private rooms."

Emily weakly nods and lets the blonde lead. Even if it wasn't a Merry Christmas, it was turning out to be a damn interesting one.


	3. Chapter 3

**Just like in ****_Heartbeat _****I am so unapologetic about writing the two of them this way. I think this dynamic is the shit, and I'm really glad some of you think so too. Thanks to all of you who review, you're all so kind. Still in a writing slump, but I already had this written and thought why not post it. Enjoy!**

"Sit down," Alison says quietly and Emily obeys, looking around the room in awe. This wasn't the same room from last night, this looked way more upscale and clean and filled with lavish furniture.

Before Emily opens her mouth to speak, she watches Alison come sit on the couch next to her, her arms crossed over her chest embarrassedly.  
>(The blonde has never been embarrassed of her nudity so she's not sure why one girl sets her nerves on fire)<p>

"Merry Christmas," Alison greets softly with a trace of a smile on her face.

"Merry Christmas to you too," Emily replies hastily. She just wants to fix things, and the blonde seems to be in a calmer state of mind than when she left last night. "I didn't know you worked today."

"I didn't have anywhere better to be," Alison shrugs and suddenly finds the walls of the room to be more interesting.

"You could've stayed," Emily says so quietly that Alison can barely hear her over the loud sensual music playing.

She carefully glances and sees the obvious discomfort in Emily's face and sees how wistful her eyes are as they focus on her. Alison can't stand to see her so upset.

"I'm sorry I ran out like that, but I meant what I said. I'm no good for someone like you," Alison ruefully tells her.

"Shouldn't I decide that?" Emily asks lightly.

"You're very sweet Emily," Alison says and uncrosses her arms, unable to resist reaching across and holding Emily's hand. "But trust me when I say that it's for the best. You can come visit me here anytime you want-"

"No!" Emily says sharply and Alison jumps at her sudden increase in volume. She almost laughs seeing Emily scare herself with her tone as well. "I don't want to have to come see you here, like this."

She glances at Alison and the blonde once again feels self-conscious, but she can't cover herself up because Emily has a death grip on her hand so she shrinks back a little.

"You don't have to dance around it, you can say you think I'm disgusting. But this is what I have to do to make money," Alison says frustrated.

"I don't think you're disgusting," Emily says exasperated as she runs her free hand through her hair trying to force herself to say what she wants to. "I…I thought I could come here today and…you know…not feel anything…jealousy I guess…but I couldn't. I saw you and…"

Emily has a hard time finishing her thought but Alison thinks she understands.

"Hey, I know what I felt last night was real. Everything that happened, every little touch and kiss or words that I said or did, I meant. And really, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you," she coos softly as she looks sweetly at Em. "What I was doing today with that guy just now was not even the slightest bit real. It's an act I have to follow. So if you felt jealous, at least you should know that I don't treat anyone the way I treated you last night."

"I'm different?"

"You're very different," Alison confirms. "You have to realize how special you are."

"But if I'm so special, why are you pushing me away?" Emily asks, and Alison swears her heart hurts because she can see the vulnerability and confusion painted across Emily's face. She sighs and scoots closer to Emily and pulls her into a hug, rubbing her back softly.

"Because I don't want to hurt you. We come from two completely different backgrounds. You're in school about to graduate with a really useful and impressive degree, and I work in a strip club to pay rent. I'm not good enough for you Emily, I could never be good enough for you," Alison says quietly. "I'm just protecting both of our feelings."

She feels Emily release a shaky sigh onto her shoulder. Truly, the brunette is trying to focus but she can't think about anything when she can feel Alison's hard nipples against her own chest.

"Please just come over," Emily breathes as she lifts her head up a little to speak close to Alison's ear. Her warm breath sounds shivers down Alison's spine and she unknowingly begins to get the blonde hot and bothered.

Alison pulls away and she notices Emily's eyes travel up and down her before struggling to focus on her face.

"Is that such a good idea?"

"Yes, please," Emily begs and Alison stands up only to move to straddle Emily on the couch.

"Okay, fine, but only because it's Christmas and I don't want you to be alone," Alison says warningly but there's a smile on her face. Her resolve has crumbled; she knew last night as she lay in bed that she had to see Emily again- she can't help herself. It's selfish, she tells herself, because she knows she's only trouble for Emily.

She notices the way Emily's eyes have widened and she cocks her head sideways, confused.

"What are we gonna do? Should we pick up food or something?"

"I…uh…Alison," Emily tries to speak.

"You can call me Ali," the blonde tells her quickly.

"Ali…I can't really think when you're on me like this," Emily says embarrassed with flushed cheeks. She really can't concentrate with Alison basically naked and straddling her. But she knows now is not the time to appease the ache between her thighs.

The blonde realizes and laughs lightly as she slides off of Emily. She sheepishly looks at her.

"Sorry-"

"No don't be sorry," Emily says trying to catch her breath again.

"I have to go work a little more, I'm a little short still for today's quota," Alison admits.

"By how much?"

"Just eighty," Alison shrugs.

"I'll just give it to you," Emily says quickly. She knows she doesn't have to watch the blonde do her job, but the idea is unsettling. Just because she's not about to judge Ali for working here doesn't mean she likes the idea.

"I can't take your money," Alison tells her though she wants to just so she can get out and be alone with Emily. "It'll just be a few minutes."

"But I want to," Emily insists. "I brought cash this time. I can afford it."

"So you brought money to actually pay me as a stripper?" Alison asks with quirked eyebrows.

"I brought it incase you needed it," Emily corrects her.

"Is this because you don't want me to go back out there and work? And by work I mean be all over random strangers?"

Emily opens her mouth but she knows she can't lie with the way Alison is looking at her, so she just nods guiltily.

The blonde feels her heart pounding. Sweet Emily couldn't even stand the sight of her with somebody else. In the back of her mind, she knew that wasn't a really great thing, because this is her life, it's all she knows. She hasn't had another job in at least 2 years. But she feels protected by the athletic looking yet gorgeously soft brunette, like she can be anyone she wants to be.

"Well, I think I can make that work this time," Alison gives in and climbs back on top of Emily as she pushes her back into the couch. Emily is stunned as the blonde slides up and down her body to the music, her face teasing with a glint of mischief in her eyes.

Alison grabs the back of her couch and with both knees on either side of Emily, she rocks her hips back and forth across Emily, and her breasts are level with Emily's face.

"Ali…"

"I'm just making sure you get your money's worth," Alison says and Emily smiles but she grabs her hips to stop her movement.

The blonde looks down at her confused.

"You know you're not allowed to touch the stripper right?" she teases but Emily's grip is firm and her eyes are darker than usual with desire.

"I'm not paying you for this," Emily tries to make it clear. "I'm just paying them so you don't have to work any longer than you have to on Christmas. So this isn't necessary."

"Alright," Alison sighs and her body relaxes. But she leans in by Emily's ear. "Trust me, you'll never need to pay me to do this."

She hears the brunette's unsteady breathing and smirks, satisfied.

"So, what does Emily Fields want to do on Christmas Day?"

x

"Don't look so shocked," Alison laughs happily as she pulls a delicious looking cake out of the oven.

"Baking is just the last thing I thought you'd be good at," Emily says as she inhales and smells the delicious aroma of the cooling cake. She watches as Alison mixes a bowl of icing that she made from scratch.

"Here, try some," Ali says with a grin as she lifts the spoon up and cheekily puts some icing on Emily's nose.

"Hey!" Emily laughs as Alison backs away defensively, a playful smile still on her face.

The brunette uses a finger to wipe the icing off and eats it off her finger, in an unknowingly seductive way. "Mmm," Emily moans and briefly closes her eyes. "That is so yummy."

She doesn't see the way Alison has stopped all movement and is staring at her with suddenly dark blue eyes.

"How did you get so good…" Emily's voice trails off as she notices how intensely the blonde is looking at her. It's almost like a predator looking at it's prey, but Emily doesn't feel hunted.

"That was…way too hot to be innocent…"Alison mutters as she puts the bowl down. She has some icing on her fingers and steps closer right up to Emily. The blonde wants so badly for Emily to lick the icing right off her own fingers, but she refrains from being that aggressive.

So instead she brings her own finger up to her mouth and sucks the icing right off, moaning (because damn her icing does taste delicious) and pulls her finger out slowly, watching Emily's pupils become large and her eyes almost black.

"Wanna taste how sweet it is?" Alison asks and if Emily weren't so turned on she would laugh at how stereotypically cheesy they're being.

Emily doesn't speak, she only nods, and Alison leans in and brushes her lips softly against Emily's. The brunette feels heart shaped lips gently graze her own before she leans forward and kisses the blonde with serious intent.

(And it's amazing because she does taste very sweet)

She enjoys the way the blonde's lips move against hers, and she lets her hands slip under her shirt in the back and Alison gasps at the cold touch on her skin. It gives Emily a chance that she takes to slide her tongue into Alison's mouth and the blonde is in a state of pure bliss- the moment is perfect. She wishes someone was there to take a picture.

Alison commits everything about that moment to her memory- the way the room is decorated with warm Christmas colors, the scent of their baking, the fact that it is Christmas day and she's never once enjoyed this holiday until now.

She presses tightly against Emily and loves the way her fingers are gently running up and down her back. It relaxes her and she lets Emily continue to dominate her while kissing, because she knows the brunette needs to feel a little sense of control once in a while. When they break apart their foreheads are still touching as their chests heave and they catch their breath.

Emily opens her eyes to see Alison's still dark ones looking back intensely at her.

"I-"

Before Alison can speak, she hears pounding on the door, _again._ Emily's heart sinks.

"Is she seriously back for round two?" Alison growls and Emily doesn't know what to do. "And did she have to interrupt right this fucking second?"

"Open the door now!"

Alison recognizes the vicious voice from yesterday and she doesn't even consult Emily before she goes over and throws the door open.

"What did I tell you about leaving Emily alone?" Alison hisses.

"I'm not going to listen to some fucking dirty stripper slut," Paige sneers and Alison's fists clench, ready to take her out.

"Did you follow me?!" Emily asks incredulously as she comes up behind Alison.

"What are you doing hanging out with some whore you picked up? Are you so pathetic that you needed to pay some skank to hang out with you?"

"Don't talk-"

"Did you use all of your daddy's money and give it to her so she could fuck your brains out? Probably because you're too pathetic to talk to anyone else."

"How dare you talk to Emily like that," Alison snarls but she hears Emily simultaneously speak.

"Don't talk about her like that," Emily says at the same time and it doesn't sound terribly threatening, but Alison can see from the way Emily's shaking that the brunette is still afraid of her ex. And so she feels warm inside that the brunette is facing her fears and even standing up for her.

"How would your parents feel if they knew you were wasting your time with a stripper? Imagine the look on Spencer and Hanna's face if you told them."

Emily watches Alison's shoulders slump and that alone is enough incentive for her to step up and defend her. She knows Paige can't hurt her, not with Ali here.

"I'd tell them in a heartbeat that I'm with Alison," Emily says in a steady voice. "But I'd be ashamed to tell anyone if I was with you."

Alison can't help the smile that graces her face, and she doesn't care that she can seriously see fire in Paige's eyes.

"Don't forget that I can break you in seconds," Paige threatens Emily and the blonde pushes the brunette back gently behind her as she stands up straight and steps towards Paige.

"If you threaten Emily one more time I swear to god I'll make you wish you never touched her," Alison says in such a deadly voice that the following silence is thick between the three.

"Emily you just wait," Paige says spitting at Alison. The blonde's temper flares and she lunges forward, shoving Paige into the wall with a hand around her throat.

"I said don't threaten her again," Ali growls in a venomous voice as she grips Paige's throat but she hears a soft voice from behind her begging her to stop.

Reluctantly, she lets go and Paige shoves her backwards.

"Emily's already got you whipped, but I had that bitch on a leash," Paige sneers and it takes everything in Alison to not attack her again but she feels shaking fingers wrap around her wrist and she breathes deeply.

"Stay away," Alison growls and slams the door shut.

"Ali…"

"I'm sorry," she breaks quickly worried that she went too far. She has a temper, but she'd never treat Emily like that.

Emily nods her fingers still wrapped around Ali's wrists and she pulls the blonde flush against her and backs her towards the door until Alison's breath hitches and she sees conflict in Emily's eyes.

"Are you mad?" Ali asks quietly.

"Not mad," Emily admits. "I was just scared when you attacked her-"

"I have a really bad temper, but I would never do that to you," Alison promises with earnest eyes. Emily nods and she truly does believe her.

"No one's ever defended me like that before," Emily tells her softly. "It was nice."

"And you stood up for me, so I guess we helped each other out," Alison says as she wraps her arms around Emily's waist.

"I'm sorry, she ruined our time again," Emily apologizes.

"It's not your fault, and it's not ruined we can still make the best of it," Alison says with an affectionate smile. She watches the corners of Emily's mouth turn upward.

"I thought this was a bad idea," Emily teases and she watches Alison wince as if remembering her thoughts. But before Emily can take it back, Alison just kisses her to cut her off.

"It's the worst idea," Alison whispers on her lips and grabs Emily's shirt near her neck. She pulls the brunette against her as she crashes their lips together. She hears the brunette moan delightfully as Alison maneuvers her tongue in such a way that has the brunette trembling and fidgeting against her.

"I think I can ice the cake now," Alison says with a grin as she pulls away and bounces over to the kitchen.

Emily gazes after her, flustered and completely turned on. Her cheeks are red and Alison laughs gently. "I'm sorry, I want to finish the cake so you can taste it."

She hears Emily grumble something about taste and her eyes widen in surprise but she can't help smiling.

"I'm sorry, did sweet little Emily just make a very dirty sexual reference?"

Emily's cheeks flush an even brighter shade of red.

"No I said I already got a taste of it," she says embarrassed and Alison giggles.

"Oops, thought you said something else," she shrugs.

Emily shakes her head and sits at the counter, watching Alison's precision at making the cake look beautiful.

"You're really good at this," Emily observes.

"Not really, but I baked a lot in our house when I was little because we lived down the street from a bakery and they taught me how to," Alison explains.

"We'll see how it tastes," Emily says and Ali looks up at her with a cheeky expression.

"Oh, we will," Alison winks and Emily tries to laugh but all she can feel is the aching between her legs. She hasn't been with anyone in so long. Besides, Paige was too rough and all about herself, and the girl before her had been when she hardly knew what she was doing.

"Sorry, am I coming on too strong?" Alison asks, noticing Emily's silence.

"No, it's okay, I think it's funny," Emily reassures loving their playful banter. It doesn't feel heavy but it is nice that it was charged with sexual sparks. But she is nervous about being intimate with Alison. Actually, terrified would be a better word.

She doesn't know what the blonde expects. Emily can guess that Alison would be understanding of her lack of experience, but she doesn't want to come off as pathetic or weak.

"Can I ask you a question?" Alison asks her, breaking her train of thoughts. She nods, curious now as to what's on the blonde's mind.

"Just how innocent are you?"

It's as if Alison read her mind and her fears. But as Emily looks at her face closely she knows the blonde isn't asking this as a make or break kind of question. She can recognize the genuine curiosity.

"I've only ever been with two people," Emily admits nervously.

Alison nods. Perfect, so now she feels like an even worse slut.

"Is Paige one of them?"

When Emily nods, Alison feels her fists clench expectedly. "I don't like the idea of her even being able to touch you, much less…ew. What about the other girl? I mean, was it a girl?"

"Yes, her name was Maya, she was my neighbor and she could tell I was into girls so she wanted to explore it with me," Emily explained. "But I didn't really know what I was doing."

"I can't believe a gorgeous girl like you hasn't attracted a ton of people, girls and guys," Alison says shaking her head.

"Thanks," Emily says shyly.

"So you really are quite innocent," Alison says while mulling over that thought.

"What about you?"

"Oh you don't want to know," Alison says but quickly realizes how that sounds. "I mean, I _am_ a stripper."

"So?"

Alison thinks its cute how Emily truly doesn't judge her. She's never met someone more understanding and compassionate.

"I lost my virginity my sophomore year of high school, and then I had two boyfriends after that who I slept with, and then after high school I've had three flings."

"Were they all guys?"

"Yeah," Alison admits. "Is that a turn off?"

"Not really, but you've never been with a girl? Are you even into girls?"

"I've kissed girls at work," Alison says cautiously not wanting to hurt Emily. She knows Emily is sensitive about her job. "But it was part of the act, even though I think girls are so much more beautiful and soft and just much better than guys. And I am most definitely into _you_."

"So I'm the first girl you've, well, I guess, had a thing with?"

"Yeah, you are," Alison says still surprised at how understanding Emily is being.

"I like that," Emily says with a shy smile.

Alison smiles and cuts her a slice of cake. Emily takes a bite to humor Alison and is shocked at how delicious it is.

"It's so good," Emily says appreciatively as she eats. Alison smiles and puts the rest in a container for the fridge.

"So, is it okay if tonight we sleep together? And I mean it, just really sleep."

"If you're okay with that," Emily answers as she puts the plate down by the sink.

"It's another bad idea, so why not."


	4. Chapter 4

**Bleh. Writing Slump. Please review, it'll make me smile. **  
>"Right there, fuck, yes, oh my god," Alison moans loudly as she lies face down on the bed with Emily straddling her back. The brunette is giving her a massage and Alison loves the way her fingers really dig into her back and knead the knots out.<p>

"Why are you so good at this," Alison whimpers as she feels Emily's hands glide up her back.

"I took a course once," Emily explains. "I used to swim in high school so they taught us how to work the kinks out."

"I'll let you work my kinks out any day," Alison moans as she bites her lip while Emily's hands work on the small of her back.

"You're a tease," Emily says quietly with an amused smile.

"I am not!" Ali protests but she can't even say it with a straight face. She glances at the clock. "My turn, since we don't have much time left."

"I don't mind-"

"Emily, switch," Alison demands with fake authority and Emily laughs softly as she climbs off and lies flat on her stomach so the blonde can get up to sit on top of her. She closes her eyes in bliss as she feels Ali's nimble tiny fingers working quickly but very firmly. "So am I going to see you soon?"

"What time are you off work?" Emily asks, too relaxed to even care about that filthy place right now.

"Two," Alison replies. It was nearing seven pm. The girls had slept in and cuddled all morning while enjoying their playful banter, but neither of them made any serious physical advances. Then Alison had dragged Emily up out of bed and the two of them cooked and crashed on the couch watching movies. It felt so natural between the two of them, like they had known each other their whole lives.

"Come over after," Emily says without missing a beat.

"Will you pick me up? You don't have to come inside," Alison asks carefully.

"You don't own a car do you?" Emily asks nonchalantly but Alison feels a little embarrassed.

"No," she says quietly.

"Okay, I don't mind picking you up."

"Does that bother you?"

"Having to pick you up so you don't have to find your way to my place alone in the dark at 2 am?"

"Me not having a car," she clarifies. She pauses before she continues. "Or a lot of hot water in my place for that matter. Or cable…actually just don't ever come over because I have no central heating/ and a/c either. It would just be embarrassing."

"Why do you think I would care about that?"

"Doesn't everyone?"

"I mean those are convenient, but it's not like any of that defines you," Emily replies coolly.

"You are like a fortune cookie," Alison says playfully as she lets her fingers slip to Emily's sides to tickle her for just a moment, enough to get a giggle, before going back to kneading her back.

"You're not so bad at this yourself," Emily hums happily as she bites back a quiet moan.

"I have a lot of secret talents," Alison says proudly. She can hear Emily choke back a laugh. So she leans down and lets her lips graze the brunette's ear. "Wait til you see what I can do with my tongue."

"O-h-h," Emily says in a strangled voice but it sounds like a moan as she feels Ali's hot breath cover her ear. A shudder rips through her body without warning and she slams her head face down into the mattress, a little embarrassed but mostly frustrated.

"Alison," she groans and the blonde can't help herself as she lets her hands slide up and down her sides tauntingly, her fingers tracing little patterns on the way, and the brunette begins to quiver. Alison has been _very_ handsy with Emily in their flirting and all their cuddling. But what's stopping her from advancing is the fear of moving too fast or coming off too aggressive.

Still, Emily is so incredibly beautiful to Alison and she wants so badly to really experience her- she wants to make Emily feel good in every last bit of her lovely body. It is taking everything within the blonde to not jump the gun with the brunette because she means way more to her than just a fling or friend with benefits.

"Emily," she mumbles under her breath and flips the brunette over clumsily. She lands on top of her with a thigh between Emily's legs.

She sees the brunette staring up at her with a smile and she leans down to kiss her softly. For a few seconds it's sweet, but she's surprised when Emily slides her hand into her hair and catches her bottom lip between her teeth teasingly.

Ali whimpers slightly and lets her hands on Emily's hips slide a little up under her shirt feeling her toned yet soft tummy.

She leans up and looks down at Emily.

"I don't want to go too fast," Alison whispers softly as she brings one hand up to brush Emily's hair out of her face while letting the other hand trace patterns on her torso. "But I really want to touch you."

"You can," Emily says softly and Alison knows she means it by the sincere look in her eyes.

"You tell me when to stop, okay?"

Emily nods and Ali gives her a warm smile before she kisses her for just a moment. She drags her open mouth down to the base of Emily's neck and begins to suck on the skin, causing Emily to fight the urge to moan. But she can't hold it back as Alison's hand slides up her shirt and covers her left breast over her bra. As Ali nips at her skin she feels the blonde grab the soft mound of flesh appreciatively, her thumb flicking back and forth over her nipple, and Emily finally moans, quietly but sensually.

Ali almost gulps. If her panties weren't wet before, they were most definitely soaked now. Hearing Emily moan, because of _her_, was probably the sexiest sound Alison had ever heard. She pulled back and sat up, sliding her hand out.

"Sorry, if we keep going I'll never be able to get to work," Alison apologizes trying to breathe properly

"Did I mess that up?"

Alison looks at her like she's grown two heads.

"Mess that up?!"

She shakes her head vigorously and grabs Emily's hand, and nonchalantly slides it inside her jeans outside her panties- but it doesn't matter because the brunette gasps loudly at how soaked they are.

"I mean, I've been having…you know…thoughts all day…but that little moan of yours…fuck," Ali shakes her head but when she feels Emily begin to rub ever so slowly against her panties, she gasps and grips her wrist, suddenly way too turned on.

Emily's wearing an innocent smile but Ali can see how playful the brunette is slowly becoming.

"Later," Alison murmurs removing her hand. She pulls Emily up with her and plants a kiss on her nose. "Definitely later, beautiful."

X

At 1:53 am, Emily finds herself outside the club, a little overeager already to see Alison but she doesn't think the blonde would care if she knew. She's a little worried, Alison hasn't texted her back in over three hours but she figures the club just got busy because all Ali had texted her about earlier was how much she wanted to leave already and continue to lay in bed in sweats with her.

At 2:16 am, she sits there a little concerned when Alison doesn't answer her phone call or text. Most people had exited already, she had seen a stream of people leave right around 2.

So Emily cautiously gets out and walks inside through the still unlocked door and is stopped by the rude looking bimbo at the front. When she explains she's just here to pick up _Vivian_, the girl reluctantly lets her go back.

But she doesn't have to walk very far to see two topless blondes flirtatiously all over each other in front of a very rich, important looking man who keeps talking to them. She can recognize Alison in a heartbeat and watches her messily grab on to Cece and clumsily kiss her before laughing and stumbling, almost falling over.

Emily tries to tell herself that this is part of her job, but it doesn't make it hurt any less. She watches Cece grip Alison's face and kiss her hard, sliding her tongue in her mouth, shoving her backwards towards the couch until Alison is moaning and squirming under her.

The older man is clearly encouraging them and he starts to touch Cece, pressing her closer to Alison, so Emily walks over to stop this before she gets sick. She wouldn't stop it if the club was functioning, but it's past two and Alison is officially supposed to be with her right now. And Emily does not want to share.

"Ali," she says a little too loudly as she walks over and watches as Cece almost falls off backwards on her ass as Alison shoves her off at the sound of Emily's voice.

"Emily!" she exclaims gleefully as she scrambles to her feet and is suddenly in Emily's arms with her legs wrapped around her. The brunette is caught off guard and can quickly smell the strong scent of alcohol all over her. "I missed you Em, I wanna go home."

"Now who's this incredibly beautiful girl?" the older man asks about Emily as Cece sits on his lap.

"This is Emmy and she's perfect," Alison says affectionately as she abruptly kisses the brunette messily but with passion, her warm tongue sliding into the brunette's mouth. Emily is caught off guard but let's the drunk girl have her moment before pulling away.

"Emily, can you take Al-Vivian back to the dressing room? I'm going to show Mr. Taylor out of here," Cece says nonchalantly but Emily sees she has a look saying we-need-to-talk. So the brunette nods and brings the blonde with her towards the back. Once they're in the empty room, Alison tries to push her down on a couch but Emily stands still looking confused.

"I want you," Alison pleads as she starts to kiss Emily's neck with desperate need. The brunette enjoys her lips on her skin but needs to get her out of here because she can't stand to be in this place much longer. "Emily please."

"Not here, not like this," Emily tells her gently and Ali's face lights up.

"At home?"

"Eventually," Emily says softly. The door opens behind them and Cece walks in with a couple hundred dollars in her hands. She hands two of the bills to Emily.

"Keep those for Alison, I don't want her to lose them," Cece says blandly.

"Okay," Emily obeys and shoves them in her pocket.

"Ali are you feeling okay?" Cece asks as she turns the drunk girl towards her.

"Cece," she says with a goofy grin as she hugs her. "I wanna go home."

"Emily is here, she'll take you home," Cece tells her. "Do you think you can change? I want to talk to Emily."

The two watch Alison's eyes turn angry, her pupils are dilated and she looks _so_ completely trashed.

"Don't flirt with my Emily," Alison says in that low, dangerous voice of hers. She turns back towards the brunette and pulls her head down, kissing her harshly with teeth scraping and tongues clashing. She turns back to Cece with dark eyes. "She likes me, me…"

"I know Ali, I'm not going to flirt with her I promise. I just want to talk to her okay?"

Alison slowly and drunkenly nods and stumbles over towards where her bag is on the couch.

Emily is so confused. She feels so out of place.

"She's not just drunk," Cece says catching her attention. This makes Emily's eyes narrow and her heart beat fast.

"_What?_"

"They drugged her," Cece says in a low voice.

"Who drugged her?" Emily asks in such a harsh demanding voice that the blonde is caught off guard.

"Our bosses. When one of us is performing poorly, they tell us to loosen up with a few drinks that they give us. She hasn't been making their quota the past two weeks, and she's been barely trying. So they gave her some alcohol. But I saw them lace hers with something, I don't know what. And I'm sorry you saw that back there, between us. She told me how much you don't like her working here."

"When did she say that?"

"Today, when she came in, she found me and started venting. She's not blaming you, she just feels stuck because she doesn't know what else to do and she _really_ likes you. She kept saying she doesn't want to fuck up this chance."

Emily tries to process everything. But Cece continues.

"Ali is like my little sister. When she came here she didn't have anyone in her life she could trust, and she was this scared little thing. Her ex at the time had screwed her over, I'm sure she told you."

"No actually," Emily says quietly.

"Well he did. That bastard fucked her over so badly she was jumping at every little noise. So I taught her how to stand up for herself and to just be herself again. I don't know what's going on between you two, but don't hurt her," Cece warns but she isn't too harsh.

Emily nods rapidly, wanting to get Alison the hell out of this place.

"They can't keep getting away with drugging her."

"I don't think she even knows, I've never told her what goes on. I yelled at them and I got a black eye, so that was the last time I tried to deal with that."

"Cece why don't you just leave?"

"Where else am I going to make five hundred dollars a night?"

Emily sighs. She has no energy to argue with anybody right now. She looks towards the tiny blonde on the couch and sees her with just a sweatshirt slipped over her torso. Ali has fallen asleep curled up on the couch, and Emily thinks she looks so freaking cute despite the circumstances.

"I'll make sure she gets home," Emily tells Cece. "Thanks."

"Take care of her," is all Cece replies before grabbing all her stuff to go change.

Emily goes over to the blonde on the couch. "Ali," she calls softly and the blonde's eyes flutter open. A smile graces her face.

"Emmy," she says affectionately as she tries to sit up. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," Emily says with a smile. The blonde's eyes begin to droop again and she holds on to Emily. Her head nods forward and rests on Emily's shoulder- she's out.

X

Alison blinks sleepily, sunlight entering her eyes. Her head is fuzzy for a moment before it clears and she feels bile rising up in her throat.

"Oh god," she says feeling sick and Emily, who's lying beside her, quickly opens her eyes and sits up.

"What's wrong?"

"I need bathroom, now," Ali tries to say but her stomach lurches and her headache comes on full force.

"Trash can on your side," Emily says as she nudges her towards the edge of the bed and holds her hair back while Alison lets go and wretches up the contents of her stomach. She hates throwing up, the smell of her own vomit makes her continue to empty her insides.

As she heaves, she feels Emily rub her back softly and whisper that it's alright.

"God," she mumbles as her body shakes and she hangs her head over the side while trying to breathe. "What happened?"

"You were really fucked up," Emily says softly as Alison groans and wipes her mouth on the back of her sweatshirt sleeve.

"How…oh god," she says as she feels it coming back and she continues to heave into the trash can until there's nothing left inside her.

"I feel like shit," Alison whimpers as she rolls back onto her side facing Emily and closes her eyes.

"Does this happen a lot?"

"Throwing up? No, not really."

"Do you always get really drunk at work?"

"No," Ali says trying to calm down despite her nausea. "I don't remember coming back here or even seeing you last night. How'd I get here?"

"I picked you up."

"And I was shitfaced?"

"Cece explained it to me."

"Oh," is all Ali can say as she lies still. She doesn't want to talk about this now with Emily. "Did I say anything?"

"Nothing that bad," Emily says but Alison opens her eyes because she can hear the smirk in Emily's voice. She sees the brunette looking at her playfully and she groans.

"I embarrassed myself didn't I?"

"I mean, you had cute moments…"

Alison huffs and shuts her eyes. "I feel like a fucking train hit me and then your ex creature girl came and stepped on my head and used it as a soccer ball. And I don't even remember drinking that much."

Emily's eyebrows crease worriedly. She knows the truth, she just doesn't want to break it to Alison.

"I had like two drinks…that's what I remember anyway, I felt so out of it," Alison tries to recall. "So fucking weird."

"Ali you shouldn't work there anymore." Emily says cautiously.

"I know you don't like me working there but I need that job."

"They drugged you, that's why you were so out of it."  
>Ali is already paler than usual but she pales even more.<p>

"_Who_ drugged me?" her voice is quiet and soft, but Emily thinks Alison doesn't even sound shocked, just afraid.

"Your bosses."

"Cece told you that?"

Emily simply nods, and Ali is completely silent for a few moments.

"Alison?"

"Can we talk about this later? Please?"

Emily opens her mouth to object, but she takes one look at how sick Alison looks and relents. She nods and gets up.

"I'll get you some advil," she tells her over her shoulder and leaves.

Ali lies there, absolutely sick to her stomach. She knows that the first thing she should be concerned about is the fact that her bosses _drugged _her. But what's on her mind is completely irrational- she can't stop thinking that Emily finds her completely disgusting. She can't even imagine how Emily must've found her.

The blonde imagines herself in the most embarrassing situation- for all she knows, she could've been completely naked and shitfaced and all over god knows who. She's terribly afraid Emily is just pitying her and taking care of her until she can kick a mess like her back to the curb.

Just the thought of easily losing any chance she has with Emily in a mere second scares her shitless. She can't imagine Emily ever putting up with her bullshit (because she knows she herself wouldn't). It brings out the most painful thoughts for Ali.

"I brought you some ad-"

Emily is reading the bottle while holding it up to her face but walks in to see Alison curled up in a ball shaking. Tears are slowly but surely beginning to fall from her eyes that are squeezed shut tight and Emily rushes over to her bedside, kneeling down.

"Ali, what's wrong?"

"I'm sorry I fucked up," Ali chokes out with labored breathing. Emily is completely startled and looks at her. The blonde's eyes are still screwed shut and her chest is heaving. "I didn't mean to I'm sorry."

**EDIT:  
><strong>Okay, I'm having a shitty morning so I'm going to rant right here. To the guest that just left a nice long note about how this story makes no sense, I'm sorry but you make no sense. Yes, Alison is beautiful and smart and yes girls that are pretty tend to get jobs more often than not. But unfortunately, that isn't always true. I've met some very smart and gorgeous strippers, and I was emotionally/romantically involved with two who were very different from each other- and they both had their reasons for doing their jobs and not quitting, though one right now is slowly realizing she should quit. And if you're going to doubt whether they're actually pretty, one of them got hit on everywhere I went with her- a douchey guy came up to her when I was taking pictures of her at the beach and completely ignored me and goes "Wow you're gorgeous, completely gorgeous". And all my friends called her a 10 and the hottest girl I've been with.

My point is, I know real girls, who are just as good looking and smart as Alison, who struggle to leave those jobs. Often, they have the lowest self confidence and are afraid of screwing up, and they know that because they have sexual power over people they can at least use that to their advantage. All I'm trying to say is people do things for different reasons, and sometimes they won't walk away because they're stubborn or they're scared. And jobs like that are dangerous, you get addicted to the money. It happens.

Alison may be coming off as very sweet and protective and kind and intelligent and so forth, but they've only just met- between her family issues and what Cece has told Emily, and the way she thinks Emily is too good for her, the girl clearly has problems. People are very good at holding in their deepest darkest secrets, and emotional issues, of course, and Alison did _not_ spill her deepest problems yet to Emily- but she touched on them. That's revealing more about herself than she'd normally want to, and that frightens her.

Also, about the point that Alison makes a ton of money but lives in a shitty apartment, um why don't you keep reading because there is most definitely an explanation for that...it's not like I ended the story here without an explanation. Some people don't know how to control their spending habits, and others give money to other people out of concern. So. There's that point. I make really good money for a student with a part time job, and my paycheck disappears quickly between helping my parents out and paying rent and taking care of other people.

A sensitive girl like Emily wouldn't be having sex with her at all? In the dating/physical aspect, my friends would relate me to this version of Emily that I wrote, and I would most definitely at least _want to_ have sex with someone like Alison because I tend to set aside the bad and focus on the good. So technically yes it is a lot to mentally ignore, but somehow I do it. And there is a lot of good inside Alison. Emily just got out of an abusive relationship, Alison is like a slice of heaven for her. And they definitely aren't completely jumping into bed with each other just yet.

Sorry, I just wanted to clarify all of this. To those of you who are still reading and enjoying the story, thank you for your vote of confidence in my writing and I sincerely do write for you guys because I love the art of storytelling. And I appreciate constructive criticism, I do, I have taken certain comments and thoughts and incorporate them into my story. My screenwriting professor tears apart my scripts on a weekly basis, in a constructive way, and he's proud because I bounce back with an even better result. Someone requested that I don't make anything Ali does with other people too graphic, and I've tried to stick to that as well because it's true, this story is very much about the two of them.

Thanks for reading as always, especially if you took the time to read this angry rant. I apologize, it's quite unnecessary. Don't take it personally anon, I just needed to explain myself.


	5. Chapter 5

Emily sits against her headboard reading a book in the early evening. She glances every so often at the now peaceful blonde lying down asleep next to her. Alison's face is tear stained, and her hair is a mess, but she's finally asleep again. When Emily had walked into the bedroom and seen Alison looking so upset, she hadn't understood why. She still doesn't, she doesn't get why the blonde thinks that _she's_ the one who messed up, as if she's the one who drugged herself.

But all she managed to do was rub Ali's back softly and tell her it's okay, that she didn't mess it up, and to sleep. Gradually, the blonde had drifted off again after taking Advil.

The brunette isn't sure how much more time passes as she sits there reading but she becomes so absorbed in the book that she doesn't notice blue orbs finally staring at her, watching her carefully. When she glances at Alison to check on her, she's startled to see dead blue eyes fixed on her.

"I didn't realize you were awake," Emily apologizes as she puts her book down on the bedside table and Alison just nods. She looks defeated in every sense of the word. "How's your headache?"

"It's almost gone," Alison says quietly.

"That's good," Emily tries to say encouragingly but an awkward silence lingers between them. Emily's not sure why it's awkward but she has a feeling it's because Ali looks so empty.

"I think I should go home."

Alison avoids Emily's eyes and sits up, realizing she's wearing a pair of Emily's oh-so-soft sweat pants. But when Emily doesn't answer, she looks up and sees the brunette staring back with the saddest eyes. She looks betrayed and hurt, and Alison almost gasps because she's not sure how she could make one person care about her so much that it hurt to see her go.

"Don't look at me like that," Alison mumbles as she avoids eye contact once more. But her eyes find their way right back to Emily's big, brown ones that are shimmering with tears. "I don't want to cause any more trouble."

"We should talk," Emily tries but Alison immediately closes up, afraid of what Emily will say to her. She doesn't want to hear about how she shouldn't work at the strip club, how she's better than that, how she can probably get a better job- because she doesn't think Emily will _understand_. And, she can see the brunette offering her money and a place to stay, out of what she perceives as pity.

"Please just take me home," Alison softly begs and she hates how pathetic she knows she sounds. "That's all I want right now."

"Fine," Emily says quietly as she shoves the covers back and gets up out of bed, clearly hurt.

"Emily…"Alison tries to speak but she doesn't know what to say. The blonde just continues to sit there, completely still and silent.

Emily grabs a jacket and pulls it on as she slips into her shoes. She goes over to her dresser and takes a neatly folded sweater and pair of jeans off of the top. After she puts them into a bag, she puts it in front of Alison. Without another word, she shuffles and grabs her keys before heading out of the bedroom.

"Are you coming?"

x

Emily's knuckles are white from her tight grip on the steering wheel. Her shoulders are tense, and her eyes are focused on the road in front of her. She can't think about anything other than the blonde sitting next to her, and that alone drives her crazy. It doesn't make any sense to her how somebody she's known for barely three days can affect her this much, how she can feel this much of a draw towards the blonde.

Alison can see the brunette's tense body out of the corner of her eye. She knows she can't leave her like this because Emily is the only person that has truly taken care of her in years (aside from Cece). And that just wouldn't be right.

So she forces herself to bury her insecurities, her pressing thoughts, and to take care of Emily the way the brunette has taken care of her.

The brunette almost swerves when she feels a warm feeling on her thigh and realizes the blonde has laid her hand on her, right above her knee, squeezing gently.

"I'm not ready to talk about it yet," Alison says timidly and even though Emily isn't looking directly at her, she knows that the brunette is listening from the way her breath exhales immediately, relief painted across her face. So she lets her thumb stroke slowly and kindly as she speaks. "Or about anything really. I just need some time to myself okay?"

Emily nods, not saying anything.

"I don't work tomorrow. We could get dinner, it could be like a date, if you want?"

Emily just nods again.

"Will you please say something?"

"Okay," Emily simply replies. She pulls up and parks in the garage under an apartment complex. Alison doesn't want to just hop out of the car and leave. But she can see Emily doesn't want to invite herself up.

"Will you walk me to my door?"

The brunette complies and they walk silently up two flights of stairs to Alison's apartment and when they get there, Ali makes no move to open it.

"Look, these past few days have been…intense," Alison starts to say slowly as she leans against her back against the door. She sees Emily's eyes watching her carefully. "And I've loved spending time with you, I mean you gave me the best Christmas I've ever had."

"Really?"

"Really," Ali confirms with a small smile as she tugs on the brunette's hand and pulls her closer. The least she could give Emily is the truth of how wonderful it was. "Last night was just…it was a lot. I want to talk to you about it, but I need to think for a little bit. You understand don't you? I'm sorry sometimes I seem like I'm trying to run away."

"I'm just afraid you'll shut me out completely," Emily admits softly.

"I'm running away from my own problems, not from you. The truth is, I don't think I can stay away from you," Alison tells her with a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. She watches Emily finally smile a bit so she tugs on her even closer, satisfied that she's finally got the brunette back to an okay state of mind. Emily, who she's known for 3 days, matters more to her than people she's known for years. "Are you going to kiss me before you leave?'

Emily smiles fully this time- she can't help the grin that spreads across her face. Ali leans against the door and pulls Emily against her, tilting her head up to kiss the brunette and soft lips gently move against Alison's.

She feels intoxicated again, but in the best way possible. The way Emily's body is pressed against her and the movement of her lips, her warm tongue massaging her own- it makes Alison go dizzy and lightheaded. She doesn't even realize she whimpers as Emily kisses her harder and then pulls back, wistfully.

"So dinner tomorrow night, 6 o'clock?" Emily breathes as she leans back.

"Perfect, pick me up?"

"Already planned on it."

"Goodnight Emily," Alison says as she steps forward and hugs the taller girl. "Thank you for everything."

And so they split, both girls already thinking about the next night.

X

"Will you stay still?" Cece growls as Alison fidgets in the chair. The older blonde has almost burned Alison's head multiple times with the curling iron because the girl simply won't sit still.

"I don't want to be not ready when she comes," Alison says as she looks at her watch with such angst that Cece rolls her eyes.

"Alison DiLaurentis it's only four o clock, calm the fuck down," Cece says in a jokingly harsh voice as Alison sheepishly grins at her in the mirror.

"She's beautiful, I just want to be good enough for her," Alison tells her sincerely.

"Emily is gorgeous," Cece agrees. "She could be a model if she did her makeup properly and dressed up. But you're gorgeous too, Ali."

"Not like she is," Ali sighs. "She's beautiful on the inside and outside."

"Cheesy much?" Cece gives her a look in the mirror and Alison shrugs it off.

"She really sees me for me."

"What did she think about the whole Darren thing?"

Alison freezes and Cece looks at her weirdly. "What?"

"Why would I tell her about Darren?"

"Cause he's part of your past?" Cece explains with a confused look as she lets a section of hair bounce into a loose curl. "I thought you said you talked about the past with her."

"I told her vaguely about my family, and how many boyfriends I've had. Why would I even want to go into detail about that? How was _that_ supposed to go? 'OH by the way Emily, my ex boyfriend Darren was a police officer who stalked me and almost kidnapped me?!'"

"You said she was abused! I thought maybe you tried to relate to her-"

"The last thing Emily needs to know is how _fucked up_ that whole situation was," Alison says defensively. "Nobody needs to know about that."

"Well too late I already mentioned it to her," Cece says unapologetically and Alison stands up and whips around so fast that Cece has to reflexively swing the curling iron back so it doesn't burn Ali.

"What do you mean you mentioned it to her?!" Alison's eyes are piercing and she looks furious. But Cece is unaffected, used to dealing with Alison's antics.

"I mean I briefly mentioned it to her, I didn't even say his name," Cece says nonchalantly waiting for Alison to sit down. "All I said was something about how you're like my little sister because you came here and had nobody cause of some stupid ex. And that's all true."

"I don't want Emily to know about him-"

"Why? What the hell is so wrong with this nice, sweet, loving girl, who has been hurt too, finding out about your crazy ex? She clearly has one."

"Because it makes me look dumb, I put myself in a bad situation," Alison tries to argue.

"Sweetie you work at a strip club, that's already a bad situation," Cece reminds her dryly and Ali just glares at her.

"You know why I have to."

"You don't _have_ to use your money like that. You _choose_ to. We've gone over this."

Alison keeps a stormy face as she stares down Cece who rolls her eyes again and sighs.

"Look. I think you should talk to Emily. She seems like she'd understand. And I like how she's so willing to take care of you. Sometimes you should let someone take care of you babe. You haven't dated or gotten close to anyone since Darren, at least talk to her about it."

"She doesn't need to know-"

"She does," Cece counters firmly. She looks at Alison who has no more words left. "If you want this to work out between the two of you, you have to open up completely. I'm not saying bare your soul tonight, but you have to eventually."

X

"Hi."

Alison's soft voice jolts Emily out of her stare as she looks at the blonde wearing a very fitting black dress that clings to her curves with black tights underneath. She's holding a red peacoat in one arm and wearing heels almost bringing her up to Emily's height. Her blonde curls are cascading down her shoulders and she smells wonderful, Emily thinks.

"Sorry," Emily blushes as she finally makes eye contact with the blonde. She herself is wearing tights under a skirt with a plain but nice white top.

"Don't be sorry," Alison smiles and shuts the door behind her. "You look adorable."

Emily blushes and feels Alison grab her hand and lead her down the hall. They begin to walk down the stairs and get to the middle landing when Alison grabs Emily and pushes her against the wall.

Before the brunette can ask what's going on, Alison grips her face between both her hands and presses her lips to Emily's in a searing kiss that makes the brunette's knees go weak once more.

"I've been wanting to do that all day," Alison says sheepishly as she pulls away. But she's pleasantly surprised when Emily flips them and pins her against the wall, kissing her and pulling on her bottom lip.

"Me too," Emily whispers as she kisses Ali chastely before pulling back and grabbing her hand again.

The two of them make it to dinner, and Alison is stunned at the restaurant aesthetics. It's dark on the inside with dim lighting, and every decoration probably cost more than Alison could imagine. She has only seen menus like this in passing, and she has certainly never eaten at a restaurant like this.

"Sorry, is this too much?" Emily asks shyly, noticing Ali's amazement.

"I feel bad that you're spending all this money on me," Alison says gently. "But it looks wonderful."

"Well, actually, I have this gift card," Emily says with a smile pulling one out of her purse. "My friend Hanna's mom gave it to me a while ago for my birthday. It's for $150."

"Wow, that was generous," Alison notes.

"Order whatever you want," Emily encourages. "How about a glass of wine?"

"Wine's always good," Alison agrees and so Emily orders two glasses of red wine and the two make small talk while drinking slowly. By the time they order food, they're feeling warm and fuzzy.

"I have to go back to Rosewood this weekend. I'm driving back tomorrow," Emily tells her as they wait for their food.

"Where's that again?"

"A town west of here," she explains as she picks at the bread on the table. "My parents want to see me and are mad at me for not spending Christmas in town with one of them.

"Well you shouldn't have to pick sides," Ali says thoughtfully. "Who are you going to stay with?"

"Well, I was going to ask you if you wanted to come. I don't want to face my parents alone, and if I bring a girl they'll be less inclined to fight right in front of me, or with me," Emily says sadly.

"Of course I'll come with you," Alison says warmly. "I know all about family drama, believe me."

"Yeah it sounds like it," Emily says sympathetically. "We can stay in a hotel near Hollis. That's the college most of my friends attend. It's less awkward than picking sides."

"You sure you're okay with that?" Alison asks in a low voice.

"I'd love that," Emily says quietly and Alison can practically feel the sexual tension building monumentally between them quickly.

"I have to take off work," Alison thinks aloud, distracting herself.

"Do you mind doing that, is it a problem?" Alison sees Emily's brows furrow, worriedly, and she shakes her head.

"No, not since it's for you."

They make it through dinner and back to Emily's place. But as soon as they shut the door Alison jumps into Emily's arms, kissing her desperately, wanting to feel all of the brunette's love. She almost knocks the taller girl over but Emily manages to steady herself and walk them into the bedroom before laying Alison down on the bed, her body following and landing on top of her. They kiss for an extended period of time- their tongues clashing and exploring each other's mouths, and their hands roaming up and down each other's bodies.

But Emily is the first to stop, panting, and pulling Alison close to her. "Ali," she whispers softly.

"Mhm?"

"I'm scared," she says softly against Ali's neck and the blonde's heart flutters.

"You have nothing to be afraid of," Alison says soothingly as she leans up to hover above Emily. "But we don't have to keep going."

"I want to," Emily says frustrated. "I'm just nervous."

"Of what, Em?"

"Of being…I don't know…" Emily struggles to say it out loud but Alison pushes a strand of hair behind her ear and caresses her cheek. She trusts Alison, the way she's looking at her makes her relax. "Of being bad at...you know."

"Oh, babe," Alison says gently as she strokes the soft skin on Emily's cheek. "You really don't have to worry about that. I swear. I can almost cum sometimes from the way you kiss me, I'm not even concerned about sex."

Emily blushes deeply and Alison finds it amusing how shy the brunette is about things like this.

"Trust me, you'll see, when the time is right," Alison says in a very low voice as she kisses her while sliding her hand up Emily's shirt and grabbing her left breast. She takes her time to tease the straining nipple with her fingers while she bites lightly on Emily's lip and sucks on it, the brunette suddenly moaning loudly.

"See how easy it is to just lose yourself in it?" Alison asks in a low husky voice. "I forget everything when you're with me like this except for how much I want you."

Emily nods hastily and Alison continues to tease her until the brunette is squirming uncontrollably, her moans becoming louder and louder, and so she decides to give her a break. They lay there in silence for a few minutes, Alison curled up into Emily's side.

"Are you still scared?"  
>"I don't think so," Emily replies, hugging Alison tightly.<p>

"Good," Alison says kindly as she presses a kiss to her cheek. "Should I be nervous about meeting your family tomorrow?"

"My friends will probably be more intimidating, well, actually, both my family and friends can be pretty intimidating," Emily admits. "But I'll be right there. I won't let them do anything."

X

"Hanna shut your mouth you're going to catch flies," Spencer says dryly as the girl gapes at the two visitors. Alison feels awkward as she stands there holding the brunette's hand tightly, but Emily might be squeezing even tighter.

"Guys this is Alison," Emily says cautiously. "Ali this is Aria, Hanna, and Spencer."

"I know you said you were bringing a girl you were seeing but holy shit Em," Hanna bluntly says and all four girls look at her with incredulous faces. "What? You went from Paige to _her_, I mean damn girl."

"I hope that's a good thing," Ali says shyly as she leans into Emily's side. She's not used to being scrutinized like this by girls. Her only girl friends were the ones from the strip club, and they couldn't judge her.

"Oh it's more than a good thing," Aria chimes in. "Paige was so out of Emily's league."

"Where do you go to school?" Spencer asks curiously, and it doesn't escape the witty brunette the way the blonde's body tenses.

"I, uh, don't," Alison says nervously. Her and Emily hadn't exactly discussed yet what they were going to say but they hadn't thought it'd come up so soon. She looks at Emily who looks worried all of a sudden. "I just work."

"Where at?"

"I serve drinks, downtown," Alison replies smoothly and she feels Emily sigh. "Like cocktails and stuff."

It wasn't a lie, the club did have drinks.

"So you're a waitress," Spencer says with narrow eyes and Alison shrinks closer to Emily. "You look really familiar. Maybe I've seen you before, where do you work?"

"The Cellar," Emily jumps in, referring to the place they had ate at yesterday.

"No, I've never been there," Spencer says pensively. "But I swear I've seen you before."

"I'm sorry I don't think I recognize you," Ali says and she's still telling the truth- she has no idea who this girl is.

"Maybe you're losing it Spence," Hanna jokes and they all ease up a bit but as Emily begins to chat with her friends, Ali knows she's in for a long weekend. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees this Spencer girl scrutinizing her carefully. Alison has never seen Spencer before, but the way the girl is looking at her unnerves her. It's like Spencer really does recognize her, and Alison can't help the feeling that maybe, just maybe, her and Spencer have crossed paths before. She sighs, focusing on Emily- she's going to suck it up and endure this weekend for _her_.

**Thank you all so much for all your lovely words. It was so nice to read all your thoughts and I really appreciate all the support from you guys. And honestly, I really do like reading what you have to say- I shift the story sometimes depending on what you guys want/think. And I really wanted to keep on writing for you all, and I did my best to keep it up to my standard but I'm still struggling a bit. So I hope you guys like this, let me know :) I really, really appreciate all of you, you guys make my day.**

**(I'm still trying to structure and plan the other 3 stories I have, to finish them off, so if you're reading them I am still working on those!)**

**xo**


	6. Chapter 6

**I know I just posted yesterday, but I wanted to post again because I'm not sure when I'll have time to update this week. And so I made this chapter particularly long and interesting, in my opinion. :3**

"Oh my god. Alison…Alison DiLaurentis."

The blonde whips around in Hanna Marin's kitchen. Mrs. Marin had insisted that the girls stay for dinner, and she had been gushing over how cute Emily and Alison looked together. The two had embarrassingly admitted that they hadn't known each other for that long, but no one seemed to mind, save Spencer who had been continuously giving Alison these glances that made her uncomfortable.

And now, she finds herself with a glass of water in the kitchen facing the scrutinizing brunette. She shifts uncomfortably and looks at the door leading to the patio where everyone else is. But Spencer is standing in her way, and she doesn't like how the brunette finally looks like she has figured her out. She has a very bad feeling in the pit of her stomach and she's unsure why.

"From the DiLaurentis vs. Wilden case," Spencer says slowly with realization and Alison swears her heart stops beating for a few moments.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she says, her voice shaking and her eyes betraying her words.

"My mom worked on that case, I knew you looked familiar," Spencer says, a triumphant look gracing her face. When she sees Alison's confused look, she clarifies. "Hastings. She was Darren Wilden's attorney."

"Oh," Alison says suddenly feeling very trapped and afraid. She had really started to enjoy Emily's two other friends, Hanna and Aria. They were kind, and funny. Spencer gave her weird vibes, like she had a power complex. And apparently her mother had been the scary devil in the court room that Alison had feared all along.

"She talked about that case non-stop. You're the girl," Spencer says in amazement.

"Please, please don't say anything," Alison begs quietly as she stares longingly at the door, wishing that Emily would walk through. She feels naked and vulnerable in front of a stranger, and she hasn't felt this feeling since she first started working at that filthy strip club.

Spencer narrows her eyes suspiciously.

"Emily is one of my oldest friends, I've known her since middle school. Is she even safe with you? I don't want to be worrying every second that you're going to attack her-"

"You know _nothing_ about what happened," Alison growls defensively. Her heart is pounding through her chest. Whoever this girl is, she's suddenly threatened to destroy Alison's entire new world involving the kind brunette. "And I would _never_ hurt Emily."

"Alison," comes a warm voice from the door and she sees the owner of the house walk in. "Come back out, Emily was just telling us what an amazing baker you are. Maybe you can lend me a recipe, if I bring a homemade dish to the New Year's party I'm attending I'll be able to impress the guy I'm seeing."

"Sure Mrs. Marin," Ali says politely as she watches Spencer eye her. "I could definitely show you a recipe or two."

And so she follows Ashley out the door, looking at Spencer defensively as she exits.

"Hey where were you?" Emily asks as Alison slides onto her lap on one of the patio chairs.

"Just getting some water, chatting with your friend Spencer," Ali says as she kisses her forehead lightly.

"Your girlfriend is quite charming," Spencer says with a bit of a biting tone as she walks outside and sits down next to Aria. The others look at her questioningly, especially Emily.

"Oh we're not…you know…not," Emily stutters and looks apologetically at Alison who kisses her head again and cuddles up to her before turning to look at everyone else.

"We're taking it slow, just seeing each other for now," Ali says kindly and then looks down at Emily who smiles appreciatively. They have most definitely not talked about labels yet. They both know it's too soon.

"That's good," Aria adds her two cents. "I'm glad. I think you could be really good for her, Ali."

"Yeah, I approve," Hanna says with a smile.

"But taking it slow is good, gives you time to learn more about each other," Spencer says with a knowing smile that sends shivers down Ali's spine. She feels cornered, and the only thing stopping her from a panic attack is the feeling of Emily's warm arms wrapped around her.

Emily notices the blonde shiver.

"Are you feeling okay?" she sees that the blonde's face is a bit pale, and she's fidgeting.

"I'm fine, but I think I'm just really tired from the early drive, and I didn't drink much water," Alison says quietly.

"We can go to the hotel soon, we don't have to see my parents til tomorrow for lunch," Emily tells her and the blonde nods. She shifts on Emily's lap so she can bury her head tiredly in Emily's shoulder. Truthfully, she can't stand to look at the others, can't stand to see Spencer Hastings (_fuck_ the Hastings) giving her such a judgmental look. She thought these nightmares had ended with the court case, but she knows the events from her past will continue to haunt her.

X

"Mmm, Ali," Emily moans as she lets the blonde completely take control and push against her. Alison has her trapped between the bathroom wall in their hotel and her tiny, barely clothed body as she purrs in Emily's ear before nipping at the earlobe tenderly. Her roaming hands are all over Emily's still clothed torso as she moves her mouth down to Emily's neck, her teeth scraping the skin before sucking hard.

"Oh god, Ali," Emily pleads, the teasing is almost too much for her.

"Shouldn't have accidentally walked in on me," Alison says in a low husky voice as she refers to how Emily absentmindedly went to change in the bathroom forgetting Alison was in there already.

"I'll knock next time," Emily breathes and Alison laughs quietly, amused and pleased with herself. She loves complicating Emily's breathing. It means that she is still wanted, still what Emily desires.

"Let me finish changing, I'll be out in a sec," Alison says softly, her voice reverting back to it's normal gentle tone that she reserves for Emily only. She kisses Emily and lets the brunette out of the bathroom before she shuts the door and looks at herself in the mirror.

As she stands there in her black lacy lingerie, all she sees is trouble in her reflection. She can't believe that out of all the people Emily could be friends with, Spencer turned out to be the daughter of her tormenter's attorney. She shakes angrily at the thought of Spencer revealing secrets to Emily that she wasn't ready yet to share.

As she slips on an oversized baggy t-shirt and skimpy shorts, she walks back out and swallows as she sees Emily taking off her pants with her back to her. Her eyes fixate on the brunette's long, lean legs and perfect ass that is completely visible with the lacy cheeky she's wearing.

She feels desire pool between her legs and she's caught in a lustful daze as Emily whirls around, suddenly aware that Alison is watching.

Emily is too nervous to speak. When Alison looks at her with such dark eyes, she doesn't know whether to feel scared, or super turned on. Usually it's both. So she stands still like an idiot, practically half naked, with Alison staring at her.

"You should put shorts on," Alison says slowly, forcing her eyes to meet Emily's. "I don't think you know how completely beautiful you are."

Emily blushes and Alison makes herself go over to her bag so Emily can continue changing, but their sexual tension is at an all time high.

She grabs a water bottle and finishes it off, her dehydration taken care of.

"I'm dressed," Emily says and Alison looks at her to see a smile on her face.

"God damnit," Alison says jokingly. "Clothes ruin everything. That's why I don't wear them at work."

"Oh is that why?" Emily asks back sarcastically with a raised eyebrow and Alison laughs.

"I guess I'm just used to it. But it's different you know, with you," Alison admits as she pads over to the bed where Emily has already climbed onto it. She sits facing Emily, the covers pulled back from both of them. Emily's long legs are still exposed due to her incredibly short shorts. And Alison thinks she's never seen someone more gorgeous as she looks at Emily whose brown eyes are radiating in the dim light of the lamp by the bedside table. The room is dark except for that light, and Alison loves the intimate setting with her new favorite brunette.

"Different?"

"Being completely bare in front of you, it's scary," Alison tells her.

"But how is it different from when you're at work?"

"Because what you think of me is everything," Alison says sincerely as she lets her fingers draw patterns on Emily's calf to distract herself. "When I'm at work its just sex, plain and simple dirty sex appeal. It's crude, it's disgusting, and it's demeaning. You think I don't realize that? It's not like I enjoy working there."

Emily wants to interject, but she can tell that Alison has more to say so she stays quiet.

"I see girls naked all the time, and I have to get naked for pervs just to earn fifty dollars, it's filthy. I don't know how you're not disgusted by me, sometimes I'm too disgusted by me to sleep at night. But I'm glad you're not."

She looks at Emily appreciatively, and the brunette sees tears building in her eyes. She sits up and leans forward, letting her hand hold Alison's while she talks.

"I know you're afraid of this, but I'm terrified. I haven't felt like this in so long- nervous about being completely stripped of everything and just being me, and hoping that's enough."

"Are we talking about physically or emotionally?" Emily asks gently.

"Both. It's easy enough being a tease, and flirting, but when it comes down to it…"

"You're afraid," Emily finishes for her and Alison nods.

"I haven't let anyone in like this for a very long time," Alison tells her. "And the last time I did, they really, really hurt me. Purposely."

"I would never," Emily says squeezing her hand lightly. Alison nods, a tear slipping out of her eye.

"I hated being desensitized, that's how I felt when I started working, and when I had flings they didn't mean a thing. I practically showed up naked. But I'm so afraid of messing this up, and I'm not okay with just being so loose around you, and I don't want you to just see me as this-"

She's cut off by Emily's lips on hers as she gasps in surprise but quickly relaxes, bringing her hands up to rest on Emily's shoulders. Alison pushes her back gently and they both catch their breath.

"What was that?" she asks as she looks at Emily through hooded eyes.

"I didn't want you to be afraid anymore," Emily explains with a cute smile and Alison can't hold herself back as she launches herself at Emily. They fall backwards with Ali landing on top of the brunette and they never break their kiss, which is deep and slow. Emily's warm tongue slides into Alison's mouth, massaging hers, and Ali feels her body react, her hips pressing against Emily's.

"You are something else, Emily Fields," Alison whispers as her hand caresses her face and Emily's heart is pounding.

"If we're both afraid, we can face our fears together," she says in a very quiet but sweet voice and Alison nods, knowing what is coming next.

"It's not too soon is it?" Ali asks, making sure the brunette is okay with this. She'll never forgive herself if Emily regrets what's about to happen.

"Do you think it is?" Emily asks softly.

"I know I want this, I've never wanted someone more than I want you," Alison speaks sincerely and Emily's heart swells.

"I want you, too," Emily says and that's all it takes before their lips meet again, kissing deeply with need and passion as if they are both pouring all their love into each other.

Alison feels Emily's hands sliding up her back, pulling her shirt up, and she sits up allowing the brunette to pull it off completely, her chest exposed. She knows Emily has seen her practically naked before, but this time it feels different. As Emily's eyes darken while gazing at her breasts, the blonde unconsciously begins to close up, her arms about to cross over her chest when Emily grabs both of them, sitting up.

"You keep telling me I'm beautiful," Emily speaks in a low voice that makes Alison tremble. "But you're completely breath taking."

Alison nods shyly, and lets her hands tug at Emily's shirt; so the brunette lets her pull it off. The blonde admires Emily's body, and she realizes it's about to be the first time she sees Emily completely naked. And that thought sends so many emotions through Alison's heart.

"Together?" Ali breathes, willing to and _wanting_ to experience this with Emily. She can't explain it, but she feels like she's waited her whole life for this. And it crosses her mind that this has caught her completely off guard- she had expected this to happen at least a few days later, not tonight.

But, as Emily reasons, the two of them have a magnetic pull, stronger than the tides of the ocean. They can both feel it, and why should they deny this existential feeling of need and familiarity?

"Together," Emily says back with a smile and the two of them resume kissing, and they take their time. Emily rolls the two of them over so Ali is on her back and she carefully takes her mouth and drags it down over her neck, nipping lightly along the way, and down to her chest.

She feels Alison's hands tangle in her hair as her mouth encloses around her left breast, suckling and letting her warm tongue swirl around Ali's nipple as it grows hard, and a moan escapes her. She lets her tongue flick it back and forth before she teethes on it lightly and sucks on it while Alison writhes beneath her, her hands holding Emily's head against her chest.

Emily drags her lips down Ali's torso, licking around her soft but toned belly as the blonde trembles. She reaches to pull her shorts down but looks up at the blonde.

"Should I turn off the light?"

Alison shakes her head. "I want to see you when you make me cum."

That alone is enough for Emily to pull Ali's shorts off, tossing them to the side as she stares for a moment at Alison's shaved and glistening pussy.

Alison leans up and pulls Emily's head towards hers, desperate to kiss her and whimpers against her lips as she feels the brunette's fingers run through her dripping sex.

"So wet," Emily murmurs against her heart-shaped lips in awe. She can't believe that she did that, that she is the object of Alison's needs and desires. She feels Alison's hands reach up to touch her and she bites back a moan as Alison grabs her breasts.

"Please," Alison whispers and Emily drops her head to Ali's chest, kissing her way to the right breast this time while her finger tip circles Alison's clit causing the blonde's hips to twitch with anticipation. She rubs it gently but enough to drive Alison crazy.

Emily lets her tongue flick against Alison's nipple and as she sucks on it and Alison moans, she slips two fingers inside the blonde. Ali releases such a loud moan that Emily feels the intense ache grow between her legs, but she focuses on pleasuring Alison.

The brunette is pleasantly surprised at how tight the blonde is and the feeling of Alison's warm flesh against her fingers as she pumps in and out sends her head reeling.

Alison is thrusting her hips against Emily's fingers, and the brunette slides down Alison's body, letting her lips enclose around her clit. Alison moans and her thighs begin to shake as she tightly presses them against Emily's head. Emily begins licks circles around her clit before flicking her tongue across it and Alison thrusts her hips up so she's riding Emily's fingers desperately.

The blonde can feel her body reaching it's climax, and she knows Emily can feel it too as the brunette increases the speed of her fingers.

"Emily," she whimpers and tries to pull the brunette up towards her, needing to kiss her. Emily understands and kisses her hard, while thrusting her fingers in and out and then in, curling them, as her thumb presses against Alison's clit and the blonde begins to shake, her moans unable to be contained as Emily moves her lips to Ali's neck. The blonde's body tenses and she slams her eyes shut.

This climax feels like an explosion, like a culmination of every desire Alison has being fulfilled. Her only thoughts consist of the special brunette beside her, who takes care of her in every way.

Emily feels Alison's muscles constrict around her fingers and she curls them once more, listening to the blonde whimper incoherently as she rides out her climax and then her body goes limp, exhausted.

"That was incredible," Alison says while catching her breath, whimpering as she feels Emily remove her fingers. The brunette's hand lands on her chest, her wet fingers playing with one of Ali's nipples. She kisses her softly, enjoying the little breaths Ali is taking to steady herself again.

The blonde enjoys Emily's gentle touches for a few moments. She knows the brunette still needs her due attention, and she plans on making Emily feel just as wonderful and loved. So she flips them over and leans down near Emily's ear to whisper.

"My turn to show you how much I want you."

x

Emily stirs the next morning, wrapped in heavy warmth. As she opens her eyes, she realizes Alison is completely naked and wrapped around her with her head on Emily's bare chest. She inhales sharply because she's suddenly completely aware that she can feel Alison's center pressed against her thigh since her one leg is draped over Emily's. She remembers the events of last night, and she feels herself become wet quickly.

She feels Alison shift and she bites back a moan as the blonde presses closer against her, but she realizes quickly that Alison is awake too as she feels the blonde's hand lazily tracing patterns on her hips.

"Your heart is racing," Alison murmurs and Emily can't speak, afraid if she tries her voice won't work.

She feels the blonde lazily drag her fingernails lightly across her stomach and down to her center. Emily shudders at the sensation. Alison doesn't say a word as she slips a finger between her slit and rubs up and down, causing Emily's eyes to slam shut. She slips her fingers in and the brunette gasps.

Alison continues and brings Emily to a climax before kissing her chastely and laying her head back down on Emily's chest.

"I like this," Alison says sleepily as she feels Emily's arm come up around and hold her tightly. She's never felt safer than in her arms.

"Me too," Emily says as she kisses Alison's head.

"Last night was amazing," she says sincerely as she leans up to look at Emily's face. The brunette nods and Alison blurts out her insecurity before she can stop herself. "You don't regret it do you?"

"I could never," Emily tells her and the blonde smiles, relieved.

"Do you want to shower?" Alison asks Emily who nods.

"Come with me?" Emily asks her as she gets up, completely naked, and walks to the bathroom to grab a towel.

"I want to," Ali says as she looks longingly at Emily…man does she really want to. But she told Cece she'd call her in the morning, and so she regretfully declines and Emily shrugs before she hops in the shower.

"Ali, how's suburbia?" Cece's voice comes through clearly when she picks up and Alison rolls her eyes.

"_Emily_ is great, suburbia, not so much," Alison replies dryly.

"What's going on?"

"It turns out that one of her best friends is the spawn of satan," Alison says angrily.

"Explain."

"She's the daughter of Wilden's attorney."

"Holy shit," Cece says with her jaw dropped and Alison can just imagine her now. "That's like the plot twist of the year."

"Shut up Cece," Alison growls.

"That's terrifying," Cece admits and Alison runs her hand through her hair frustrated.

"I want to tell her, but I couldn't last night, and I can't today either cause-"

"Oh my god you totally had sex with her!" Cece exclaims on the other end and Alison rolls her eyes at how well the other blonde can read her.

"Yes, yes Cece we had sex," Alison continues nonchalantly though there's a soft undertone to her voice as she says that. "And this is serious. She trusts me now. What if she finds out from her friend who thinks I'm a psycho. I mean you know what her mom did for Wilden-"

"I told you, you have to tell her so she hears it from you first. And if you don't want to this weekend, you sure as hell better make sure her friend doesn't get to her first."

x

"I'm a waitress, I work at The Cellar," Alison states again, prepared this time as she sits at a table for lunch at a nice restaurant with Emily and her parents.

"And do you plan on going to school?" Pam Fields asks with concerned eyes and Alison can feel her judging harshly.

"Maybe one day," Alison shrugs, acting unaffected but deep down it hurts knowing that her mother already doesn't approve.

"School isn't for everyone. Maybe you have talents you're good at that could get you another job," Wayne chimes in and Emily looks at him gratefully.

"Alison's an incredible baker," Emily adds enthusiastically. Alison smiles. Her heart warms at how the brunette raves proudly about her talent.

"I grew up next to a bakery, and after school I would wander in there and they'd teach me how to do different little things, and then eventually I learned how to make all the desserts there."

"There you go Emmy, you should wife her," Wayne jokes with a smirk and Pam rolls her eyes.

"I'd love to go to school," Alison throws in. "But I can't really afford it."

The rest of lunch is typical and consistent. Pam is stand-offish with Emily's girl as usual, Wayne jokes lightheartedly, and Emily is in the middle with Alison, who more often than not sticks up for her at any sign of a negative comment. They make Emily promise to join them for a late dinner tonight, and brunch tomorrow morning before they leave. Alison sympathetically squeezes her hand under the table as Emily sullenly agrees.

She doesn't like knowing that if her mother knew about what Alison really did, she would try and interfere. Her parents don't even know about Paige's abuse. They barely know anything anymore about their daughter. And Alison can see the distance and how it hurts Emily. She herself knows how much it sucks to handle difficult parents.

After, Emily splits from her family, eager to get away with Alison. She takes her to a lookout point above Rosewood, and the two are finally alone. They had stopped to buy hot tea on the way, and so the two stand outside in the cold, huddled together, sipping tea while admiring the view.

"Emily," Alison breaks the silence.

The brunette nods, waiting to hear what she has to say.

"Do you have any secrets?"

"Doesn't everyone?"

"Like, really bad, dangerous secrets," Alison clarifies and Emily turns her around in her arms, immediately worried.

"Is someone hurting you?" the brunette asks with furrowed eyes as she looks worriedly at Alison.

"No, nobody's hurting me now," Alison says softly as she hugs Emily and leans against her.

"But someone did," Emily states gently, remembering what Cece said and what Alison had said last night. The blonde nods.

"Yes. And it's a long story that doesn't need to be told right now. But I'm not hiding it from you, I'll tell you when I'm ready to."

"It's that bad?"

"It's the worst thing that's ever happened to me," Ali admits. "You want to know why I work at a strip club, why I don't trust anyone, why I live in a shit hole and I don't see my family often? It's because I made the mistake of letting the wrong person into my life."

Emily feels Alison squeeze her tighter and she lets her hand lovingly rub Alison's back while nuzzling her head against Alison's.

"I was so stupid," Alison says, her voice breaking. "So fucking stupid."

"That is the last thing you are," Emily says fiercely as she holds Alison close to her, wanting to protect the tiny blonde from the world. And it's strange really, because Alison is the feisty one who protected her from Paige. But Emily thinks to herself that maybe the two of them bring out the best in each other.

Alison sighs and pulls herself together. She leans back and grabs Emily's hands eagerly.

"I don't want to ruin our time together. Can we talk about this later? I promise we will."

Emily nods and the blonde grabs her face and kisses her gently, lovingly.

"You're the sweetest," she murmurs and Emily hiccups nervously causing Alison to giggle softly. "Come on. Show me the rest of this place, I want to see everything."

**I dno why, but this is my favorite chapter that I've written so far. And as always, feel free to let me know what you think (:  
><strong>**I love me some heartfelt Emily/Ali smut.  
>Also, I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea- I love Spencer, she's my second favorite character after Alison. But I love how she always tries to interfere and do what she perceives to be the right thing, it makes for an interesting dynamic. And it gets her in quite a bit of trouble on the show, like when she showed up at the warehouse with EmilyAlison.  
>Anyway hope you liked it!<br>xox**


	7. Chapter 7

**My apologies in advance for how heavy this chapter is.**

Alison stands inside by the door of The Brew, a local coffee shop Emily says she worked at in high school. The sun set long ago, and the blonde shivers briefly though the warmth of the shop is wonderful.

She watches Emily, completely enchanted. Alison can't distract herself from how gorgeous Emily looks. Her beautiful brown hair hangs over her shoulder in loose curls and her lips curve up into a smile as she talks to her former boss. For the hundredth time, Alison wonders how the brunette doesn't realize how beautiful she is.

Her eyes linger up and down the brunette and she sighs. Alison hopes someday (hopefully soon) her feeling of inadequacy will disappear, and she'll see in herself what Emily already does.

Emily walks over holding two coffee cups. "White mocha made with 1% and light whip?" she asks sweetly.

"You remembered," Alison says with a grin as she takes the coffee and gives Emily a quick kiss. "Are you ever going to let me take you out and spoil you?"

"Sure," Emily says nonchalantly but the blonde can tell she's secretly enthused at the suggestion.

"When we get back, I know some really cool, more secretive spots in the city that I'll show you," Alison promises and Emily's smile turns shy as her cheeks blush. The blonde knows she will never tire of that adorable face. She can't describe how lovely it feels to look at someone and feel like one day she could call them home, because she hasn't had a home in years.

"That sounds really nice."

"You know what sounds nice?" Alison asks as she leans in close to Emily. The brunette stands still, afraid to move as her breath gets caught in her throat. "A little tension relief before dinner with your parents."

x

Emily's mouth falls open as a silent scream comes out while Alison's fingers curl inside her and her head falls down on Alison's shoulder as she bites. The blonde stifles her own moan as she lets Emily slowly come down from her high, her chest heaving heavily.

"Did we really just hook up in the backseat of your car?" Alison asks, catching her breath as she comes down from her own high and nuzzles against Emily.

"You couldn't wait," Emily reminds her, leaning back, and Alison gently hits her arm, jokingly.

"Shh, don't blame this on me or I'm not putting out for a long time."

"Yeah okay," Emily says with a cheeky smile and Alison kisses her, holding her cheeks and smiling happily.

"Think we look presentable enough to go to dinner?" Ali asks, suddenly self-conscious as she sits up straight and smoothes her dress out. She's never had to do this whole impressing parents thing before, and she doesn't like it one bit.

"We didn't get _that_ into it," Emily teases and Alison laughs at her.

"Oh really? If that's you not getting into it then you've gotta show me the real deal later," Alison purrs as she runs her hand down Emily's leg and the brunette grabs it before it can slip under her dress.

"We need to get to dinner before my mom spends it lecturing me about being punctual," Emily groans.

"Oh god she's one of those people?"

"Unfortunately."

The two of them make their way to The Grille and take a few minutes to do some last minute touch ups in the car before exiting. As soon as they enter the restaurant, they walk past the host and into the dining area to find Emily's already seated parents.

As they walk up to the table, Alison freezes as she sees a taller brunette standing at the table talking to the older Fields.

"Spencer!" Emily exclaims happily and Ali feels her stomach lurch unpleasantly at the way Spencer smiles at Emily, and then ever so slightly grimaces at the sight of Alison.

"Hey Em! I was grabbing dinner with Toby, he just got back in town this morning. You know nothing says home like going to The Grille," Spencer jokes.

"How is he?" Emily asks sitting down and she looks at Alison who has forgotten how to move but quickly sits down clumsily when Emily looks at her questioningly.

"He's good, he's running his own contracting company now, and it's doing really well!"

"That's great Spencer," Pam chips in admiringly.

"Thank you! So at least I won't have to worry about financial struggles with him through law school," Spencer says with a smile and Alison rolls her eyes internally at the way Pam is clearly fawning over Spencer's good fortune. And of course Spencer is going to law school, she thinks. Like mother like daughter.

"That's wonderful. Spencer have you met Alison yet?" Wayne asks.

"Yeah, she was at Hanna's last night," Spencer says with a smile and Ali forces one too.

"Spencer is quite the character," Alison says with a fake cheery look.

"Oh please, you're very interesting yourself," Spencer quips back with an innocent smile.

"Alison is quite a charming young lady," Wayne agrees and Alison looks at him kindly but she sees Emily eyeing her and Spencer suspiciously.

"Well, I should get back to Toby, it was nice seeing you all! I'll see you two before you guys leave won't I?"

"Hopefully," Emily says and Alison didn't realize that was still on the agenda.

"Awesome! I'll see you later."

Spencer leaves, and Alison releases a breath she didn't realize she was holding. As they all look at the menus, Emily leans over to Alison.

"Ali what was that?" Her voice is hushed and The Grille is loud enough that they can have a private conversation.

"What?" Alison asks playing dumb as her eyes concentrate on the menu.

"You and Spencer," Emily continues. "Why were you guys talking like you're both hiding something? And don't say you weren't, I know Spencer well enough to know when she is."

"What would we be hiding?" Alison asks, avoiding telling the truth or lying.

"I don't know, that's why I'm asking you," Emily presses. "I could ask Spencer."

"Okay, ask Spencer, I don't know what you're trying to find," Alison says flatly even though inside she's panicking.

"Alison. I can tell you don't like her. It's obvious in your voice, and your body language," Emily goes on, getting frustrated.

"So I don't like her," Alison reacts with a sharper tone than she meant to, her anxiety rising. "Can we just drop it?"  
>Emily is about to argue back but a waiter approaches the table and interrupts them to take their orders.<p>

"I'll just have soup," Alison says politely when its her turn.

"Soup? Come on Alison a girl like you needs to eat more," Wayne jokes lightheartedly and the blonde smiles sincerely for the first time since they'd entered the restaurant.

"I'm not really hungry," Alison replies and Emily knows something is definitely up because Alison's stomach had been growling in the car.

Emily quirks her eyebrow up at her but proceeds to order a salad first and then chicken in marsala wine.

"I thought you hated that," Pam comments but Emily shrugs it off.

The waiter leaves them be and Pam continues talking about her job, asking Emily about school, and droning on about pointless topics that Alison could care less about, though she pays attention because she cares about Emily.

The conversation is really driven between Pam and Emily, and Alison and Wayne share a look every so often, united in their boredom.

But Alison keeps debating over and over in her head what to do. She's come up with a hundred different ways to explain to Emily about her past, but none of them even remotely sound like a good idea in her mind. Her fear of course is slightly irrational because she's ninety percent sure at this point that Emily will believe her and understand.

"Emily?"

All four heads turn to see Paige standing by the table.

"Seriously? Is there only one restaurant in this town?" Alison mutters under her breath and Wayne chokes back a laugh as Emily throws her a look before facing Paige.

"Hey, now's not really a good time," Emily begins to speak but the scorned ex shrugs.

"It's never going to be a good time is it, with Alison around now?" Paige asks rhetorically as she makes the whole table uncomfortable with her presence. "Well, I'll just catch up with you later. I'm glad your parents took the news really well."

Alison balls her hands into tiny fists and Emily knows what's coming next, before she can even stop it.

"What news?" Pam asks confused and Alison glares daggers at Paige.

"About her being a stripper?"

"A _what_?!" Wayne snaps as he looks at Emily with a very serious look. "Emily, why would you do that? I have given you all the money you would ever need and paid for your school and-"

"Dad I'm not!" Emily cuts him off with a look of horror at what he was inferring.

"Oh Emily is not the one you have to worry about," Paige says snidely as she walks off.

An awkward silence falls over the table as realization dawns on Pam and Wayne. Alison's cheeks burn red, and even if she wants to deny it, one look at her face would give the truth away.

Nobody really knows what to say for a minute. Alison has gone through some pretty humiliating moments in her life and this just joined the list.

"So…you're not a waitress?" Pam breaks the silence and the blonde grows more uncomfortable as she glances up from her stare at the table to see her _very _concerned face.

"Not really," Alison says quietly looking back down.

"But it doesn't matter," Emily adds defensively, looking warningly at her mother before paying attention to her poor distressed blonde. "Alison is really sweet, and loving, and she really, really cares about me."

The blonde looks up surprised to hear the words coming out of Emily's mouth. She had been afraid that the timid brunette may not have dared to stand up to her mother.

"She's considerate of me, she respects me, she holds doors open for me, she-"

"Babe I think they get it," Alison says softly, appreciating the kind words but too flustered to really want this to continue any longer. She's just so tired of people judging her. "Maybe I should just go wait in the car."

"Ali, it's in the thirties outside," Emily says, refusing to let the blonde go sit in the cold.

"We can just get dinner to go, that might be best," Pam says uncomfortably.

"Pam!" Wayne exclaims, angry at the way his ex wife is staring at the poor blonde and judging her harshly. It was one thing if Emily, his own daughter, is doing lewd things for money, because he knows his daughter is not that type of person. But he knows nothing about this girl, and he's willing to get to know her if Emily is.

Emily glares at her mom too, already knowing this would be her reaction since she has been notoriously conservative Emily's entire life. It took her years to accept Emily's sexuality. The brunette didn't want to think about how long this would take.

"Em, I'll go. I don't like sticking around where I'm not wanted," Alison says taking the keys off the table and standing up quickly. She's walking away in seconds, and Emily doesn't know what to do til she sees her father giving her a look. So she gets up and goes after the blonde who's already exited.

"Ali! Alison wait," Emily calls and the blonde's pace slows down but she doesn't stop.

"Alison, please." Emily catches up, grabs her arm and spins her around. The blonde is caught off guard as Emily throws her arms around her and hugs her tightly, refusing to let go. She lets herself sink into the brunette, her muscles relaxing and her body collapsing.

"Calm down," Emily whispers as she nuzzles her head in the crook between Ali's shoulder and neck. "It's not a big deal."

"It is," Alison argues tiredly. "You don't know what it's like to have everyone looking at you and thinking you're this slut, that I'm not good enough for you or that I'm messing my life up or that I'm someone you should pity. Or worse."

"I don't know what it's like," Emily admits. "But I don't think that about you. I think you're incredible."

"Yeah, well that's the opposite of your mom's thoughts," Alison mumbles but she presses tighter against Emily. The one place she knows she now will always feel safe in is in Emily's embrace.

"She'll come around, she can't stop me from doing anything," Emily reminds her softly.

"But she's your mom, you know? You mean so much to me already Em, and I wish I could just feel like I was good enough. But I can't when all I can think about is how people look at me or what I've done with my life. I warned you, I'm no good for a girl like you."

"You're perfect for a girl like me," Emily reassures her as she presses her lips to her skin and Ali sighs with a soft smile, never tiring of that feeling.

"You should go back inside, you don't see your parents that often," Alison says reluctantly but she knows Emily should at least finish this meal with them.

"Okay, but here," she hands her the hotel key. "Go back and take a hot shower or something, I'm not letting you sit here. I'll make my dad drop me off after. You're okay with driving right?"

"I'll find my way," Alison says and squeezes Emily tightly. The brunette grudgingly lets go and smiles kindly at the blonde.

"We can talk about it later."

"Okay," Alison agrees and kisses her on the cheek before they split up. But she turns around quickly.

"Emily," she calls out stopping the brunette who turns around. "I lo-"

But she stops herself, realizing what she's saying. And she means every word of it, but for some reason it just gets frozen on the tip of her tongue.

"What?" Emily asks, not hearing her.

"Just…thank you."

X

"So tell her you love her, what's the big deal?" Cece asks dryly on the phone as Alison lies on the bed after taking a warm shower.

"It's been a week Cece. I mean we've spent an intensive amount of time with each other but it's still been just a week. She doesn't even know the worst parts of me yet."

"And?"

"And what if that scares her?"

"You're a shady stripper, she found you drugged at work, you're holding secrets about your crazy ex boyfriend, you kinda went overboard fighting with her ex if I remember correctly- and you think saying I love you is what's going to scare her away? Really?"

"Shut up Cece," Alison shoots back.

"TELL HER THE FUCKING TRUTH!"

Alison has to pull the phone away from her ear because of how loud Cece yells.

"I'm sorry, say that again I didn't hear you," Alison says sarcastically.

"If you love her, tell her! If your ex boyfriend was a complete psychopath, fucking tell her!"

"You don't understand Cece-"

"Ali, you're just being dumb."

"I'm not being dumb! I'm fucking scared," Alison lashes out with panic. "I'm scared, I'm fucking terrified because what if I tell her and she doesn't believe me? What if her parents find out? Nobody fucking believed me back then Cece! You're the only person who believes me, you know my own parents don't even believe me! What if it's too much and she can't handle me anymore? What am I supposed to do then Cece? What the fuck do you expect me to do?!"

The blonde takes a deep breath and hears silence on the other end but she hears a shuffling and sees Emily awkwardly standing in the doorway. Her mouth falls open, completely mortified that the brunette heard any of that.

She hangs up on Cece without another word and looks at Emily who looks like she's struggling for words.

"I bitched my mom out. And I brought you dinner," Emily offers softly. "Marsala Wine Chicken and salad and soup."

"I thought that was yours," Alison says confused. She doesn't know what to _think_ when Emily is looking at her with an unreadable expression.

"I hate it, but you ordered it at The Cellar so I knew you liked it," Emily shrugs.

Alison is floored by Emily's kindness, realizing the brunette ordered it after she decided to just get soup.

"How much of that did you hear?"

"None of it, if you didn't want me to," Emily says cautiously as she sits down on the bed next to Alison.

"I didn't," Alison says sighing. "But you did."

"There's still a lot about you I don't know, isn't there?"

"I need time," Alison insists but Emily gives her a look telling her she's not protesting. "I've said it over and over but it's really not easy for me."

"Someone hurt you that bad?" Emily asks softly and Alison nods.

"Can we just forget about it?" Alison asks, a desperate sadness filling her eyes. Emily nods, willing to let it go, but she's not sure how many times she should let it go. Clearly the blonde needs to talk about it, and clearly it's affecting her emotional health to hold it back. And Emily doesn't want to let it go on torturing her for much longer.

And when they kiss before sleeping, all Emily can taste is Alison's anguish on her tongue.

x-x-x

Two days later, Cece strides gracefully across the floor at work in heels and her lingerie as she heads straight for a certain couch where there is a certain blonde stripper.

She rolls her eyes as she sees an essentially naked Alison dragging her hips sensually over a grossly enthusiastic middle aged man, and Cece waits impatiently for the song to end. He slips a few ones into her thong (if it could even be considered that) and Cece is appalled at his cheapness. When Ali seductively smiles at the guy and lets her hands hold his face, Cece can't wait any longer and interrupts the song and pulls her off of him.

"Sorry," Cece says with a cute apologetic smile as Alison glares daggers at her. "She's needed for a quick second off the floor. We'll be right back."

"What the hell are you doing?" Alison growls as Cece pulls her behind into an unused private room.

"What the hell are _you _doing?" Cece asks, crossing her arms.

"Uh my job, duh," Alison says angrily.

"Yeah, a little too well. That's not like you, you're not the super skank around here, that's my job," Cece says knowingly. "What the fuck is going on? What happened with Emily?"

"Nothing happened-"

"Please, Alison, you mostly make money here by walking around and flirting with people and sitting in their laps and telling them how sorry you are that their wife doesn't do them anymore. You don't go out of your way to get dances, they ask you," Cece argues. "Now you're suddenly sliding up and down guys like poles for dollar bills? Please, at least do it for a twenty. You're being aggressive, and I taught you that to defend yourself so what the fuck is wrong, why are you so pissy?"

"Maybe cause you're fucking preventing me from making money," Alison snaps but Cece stands still, arms crossed. She throws a set of lingerie at Alison who stares at her incredulously.

"Get dressed and tell me what's going on, now. I told them you're feeling nauseous."

The two blondes stand in a heated glare until Alison cracks and throws her head back with a groan. She starts to put on the not-quite-so-revealing lingerie that at least partly covers her up.

"Fine, I know all Emily can think about when I'm around her is that I'm keeping some big secret from her, and I don't want to fucking tell her," Alison shouts, releasing her frustration. "I get anxious every time I try to tell her and I just freak out."

"Okay, this is dragging on for way too long for my taste," Cece states firmly. "Either you tell her tonight, or I'll call her in the morning and tell her."

"Don't you fucking dare," Alison hisses, her ice blue eyes flashing angrily as they lock on Cece. "It's too soon."

"It's not too soon, you two are suddenly attached at the hip. And you know I will."

"If you do-"

"If _you_ do, it won't be a problem anymore, and we can all move on with our lives," Cece says nonchalantly. "And you need to be careful, Alison. Wilden came in while you were gone."

"He what?" Alison pales. Her list of bad news couldn't get any worse.

"He was just doing a routinely check on the liquor license and regulations, making sure the place is operating legally, which you know it's not," Cece said dryly. "But you weren't here. So whatever."

"So whatever?! What if I had been here! Cece I don't want to see him ever again," Alison begins to freak out, her voice quivering and her body starting to shake. "The last time I saw him…"

"Alison. _Tell Emily_. I don't think he's dumb enough to do anything ever again. But you're not over this, just look at you. And you never talked to anyone about this. I do not count. I might be nice to you, but I'm just as fucked up as you are. Emily is good, Alison. She can help, I'm not saying she should treat you like a charity case but she'll know what to do. She will not leave you."

Cece knows she has to spell this out for the traumatized girl who hides her emotions so well normally. All she had done to help Alison was built up her walls and strong defenses, and made her stronger. But even she knew that there were still broken pieces inside. "You deserve more than this pathetic life. I promise you that Emily won't leave you."

X

Emily opens the door half asleep in the middle of the night, pleasantly surprised that Alison is standing there considering she had been distant the whole drive back on Sunday and had been pretty checked out all day today. She had said she wanted to sleep at her own apartment tonight, and Emily wasn't going to deny her that.

A trace of a smile graces her face as she sees Alison in flannel pj pants and a black tank top, clearly ready to sleep.

But she realizes Alison isn't alone, and she sees the taller, snarky blonde standing behind her. She's reminded of a child being dropped off for a sleepover, and the corners of her lips tug upwards into a smile.

"Sorry, I know it's three am, and you were sleeping-" Ali starts to apologize but Cece cuts her off.

"Alison has something to tell you. And don't let her off the hook til she does."

Emily looks between the two with a quirked eyebrow, and steps aside letting Alison come in, noticing how she avoids eye contact.

"Okay cool I did my job. And Emily?"

The brunette looks at Cece questioningly through sleepy eyes.

"Take care of Alison."

Emily manages to smile and nods. Cece smiles back and walks off, pleased with herself.

"I woke you up didn't I?" Alison asks apologetically. "It was Cece's idea-"

"Alison it's fine. If there's something you want to talk about, I want to listen," Emily insists. "Even if it is three in the morning."

The blonde steps closer and kisses Emily lightly, the fluttering feeling soothing her nerves momentarily but the brunette pulls away gently.

"After you talk," she promises, pausing before moving on. "I know something is bothering you. And clearly Cece does too."

"I don't know where to start," Alison mumbles quietly.

"Spencer texted me this morning," Emily informs her. The blonde looks at Emily, wondering why she never mentioned it. "She told me to be careful with you. When I asked her what she meant, she said to ask you. I trust you Alison, I trust you to not hurt me, so I didn't feel a need to ask you right away. But why don't you start with what Spencer's talking about."

"I got involved in a major court case against a police officer. And she knows about it, because her mom was his attorney."

"This is the guy who hurt you?"

"Yeah, he fucked me over," Alison breathed, her shoulders slumping and her body suddenly exhausted. Emily took her hands into her own and silently brought her to the bedroom to sit down.

"So, I guess, I'll start from when I was in high school," Alison began and Emily shifted the blonde so that she was between her legs and facing her. Alison scooted closer and held onto Emily, letting her legs wrap around the brunette.

"I told you I had three boyfriends. The first two weren't serious. When I was a senior, my brother was back from rehab. He would have been a year out of college by then. Some of his friends from high school stopped by my house to see him, and one of them was this guy named Darren Wilden. He was older, attractive, and a police officer. We just hit it off. I was lost," Alison says trying to hold herself together while pulling back so she could look at the brunette while she talked.

That was a bad idea on it's own because the way Emily looked at her with unwavering support and affection was enough to make Alison tear up.

"My parents were dealing with Courtney at Radley because she was causing problems, and then had to deal with Jason at home. Plus, they worked all the time. Nobody paid attention to me, and Darren came along and gave me all the attention in the world.

We were seeing each other when I was 17, but when I was 18, he convinced me to leave my parent's house and live with him. So I agreed," Alison's wavering voice and glassy eyes had Emily paying sharp attention to Alison's needs in this moment. She let her hands gently rest on Alison's and placed a kiss to her forehead, letting her lips linger.

"I was so fucking stupid," Alison begins to cry as she starts shaking harder, her breathing growing rapid. "My parents told me not to, that I barely knew him. But he was so nice, and he was so kind. He bought me presents all the time and listened to me talk about my family. He never pressured me to have sex or anything. And then it got really, really bad."

"Ali take deep breaths, I know this is hard but I think you need to talk about this, so please breathe," Emily comforts her gently as she hears the blonde's unsteady breaths towards the end of her sentence.

Emily takes Ali's right hand and puts it over her heart, and the motion calms Alison down for a few moments. Her tiny fingers move slowly against Emily's skin, feeling how soft it is and the pounding of Emily's heart.

"He…he became different, when I moved in, he was aggressive a-a-and controlling an-n-nd he'd yell a lot."

Emily braces herself because she knows that though it is going to be excruciatingly painful for her to hear details of Ali's torment, Alison herself having to revisit it is going take a greater toll on the blonde than her.

"He'd lock me in the bed room sometimes so I couldn't leave while he was gone because he wanted me there when he got home," Alison begins to crumble as her crying gets heavier. "Some days he wouldn't let me go to school. I ended up failing, and I never graduated. He'd control my cell phone, keep track of all my texts and calls and my location."

Emily feels powerless, she can't do anything but listen.

"He never really physically hurt me. Once or twice he hit me, but not that hard-"

"Doesn't fucking matter he shouldn't have hit you," Emily says angrily but she stops, letting Alison continue.

"But he would scream at me, blame everything on me. If he had a bad day it was my fault, if a guy from school texted me it was my fault, if I didn't make dinner the way he wanted it was all my fault. I lost all my friends, I barely saw my family, and the worst part is that I kept telling myself that he loved me and that I was doing something wrong."

"Ali," Emily whispers softly letting her hand come up to brush some of the tears off, but they keep falling consistently and Alison can't stop now.

"He'd pin me down on the bed, or to the wall, and he'd always get in my face and yell because he knew it scared me. I could always see the veins in his neck popping out, I was so afraid that he'd just lose control one day and beat me to death.

I was scared, and I had nobody. The one time a really nice guy tried to reach out to me and I texted back, he grabbed me by my hair and asked me if I was always a slut.

I obviously said no but he told me I had two choices: get naked so he could _humiliate_ me and either draw and write crude things on me so he could send pictures to the guy, or take really, really vile pictures with him and still send them. What was I supposed to pick, he told me I had no choice because otherwise he'd get my brother in trouble again for more substance abuse. My parents couldn't afford anymore rehab bills, they were in debt as it was."

"Ali-"

"And he told me that he would just forgive me if I picked one," Alison cries bitterly.

"You don't have to say what happened if you don't want to."

"I h-h-ha-ad to scrub that i-i-ink off me, and he wouldn't let me out of the bathroom til it was off."

Alison's entire body is shaking so hard Emily can feel the bed shaking. She doesn't realize she's crying too until Alison's trembling hands come up and feebly wipe a tear away while she keeps sobbing muffled apologies.

"It's okay to cry, and don't apologize, you needed to let this out," Emily consoles her, letting her know she could be weak in front of her.

"He was fucking smart. He never bruised a bone on me, never left a trace of damage, he just yelled, and yelled, and eventually if he even moved toward me I would start shaking."

"Did he rape-"

"Not in the physical sense. And some days he was really nice like when we first met. But he would mentally harass me until I just gave in and tried to behave-"

There's a silence between them, and Alison continues while sniffling and trying not to hyperventilate.

"I couldn't take it anymore- one day I just snapped and had a panic attack: I grabbed a kitchen knife and I stabbed him and ran. But when I tried to tell my parents, and bring it to court, like I knew I should, I got my ass kicked. Somehow he won, because he walked away with no punishment.

There was no evidence of his abuse, none that they could find. The texts with those pictures from my phone to that guy made me sound like a complete slutty freak, so guess how that made me look.

Everyone walked away from that trial thinking I was an irresponsible 18 year old who dropped out of school to sleep with an older guy and sent fucking slutty pictures out because I was crazy. I was so scared, I didn't even stab him hard enough to even severely damage anything. But he brought that up in court. So then I looked like a psycho slut. I was able to walk away because he kindly decided not to press charges for my 'domestic abuse.'"

Emily pulls her close, unable to do anything else. She doesn't know if she's qualified to help Alison, but she knows that ever since the blonde has appeared, she has realized she cares for her more than anyone else she's ever known.

She would never have guessed that Alison had gone through such trauma. The way Alison was sweet with a tough exterior, the way she brushed off the dirty manner of her job, the way she stood up to Paige- it all fooled Emily just like her act fooled everyone else.

"I lost _everything_. My parents hired a lawyer, so I made their debt worse. They don't believe me to this day and my brother won't speak to me.

I lost my reputation, my chance at school, my fucking sanity. Cece felt bad for me when I met her at work and helped me out a lot. She helped me get a place at her apartment building, taught me to be strong, and taught me how to defend myself because Darren had the nerve to come stalk me whenever I would leave my parent's house after the trial. She stood up to him one day for me- kind of like the way I yelled at your ex.

I started stripping because I didn't know where else to work that I could make money to help my parents. I keep thinking if I help them, maybe they'll forgive me one day-"

"Alison stop. Just stop," Emily whispers as she lets her lips ghost over her cheeks and plant light kisses all over her face. "You did nothing wrong. Some sick fuck hurt you, and you're suffering now. Do not believe for a second it's your fault."

All it takes is one look at Emily's giant, warm brown eyes, and Alison bursts into a fresh bout of tears all over again. And this time, Emily doesn't let go as she holds her tight against her. And when the blonde's sobbing dies down in the early hours of the morning, Emily lies them both down and holds her close.

She lies very still, Alison's head on her slowly rising and falling chest and her body wrapped tightly around Emily's side. The brunette refuses to let the blonde suffer any more than she has to, and as long as Emily is alive she will not let _anybody_ even come _close_ to hurting Alison like that ever again.

**So, I don't know how people will take this chapter- it was hard to write because I wanted to, and it's based off of real life issues- it's my way of therapy to write it out like this. But I also know the content is super depressing and really heavy, but at least there's the truth of why Alison is the way she is, why she's a stripper and why she's so poor. It only gets better from here for her.**

**If you didn't like the chapter, I understand, but after rewriting it four times I knew this was the story I wanted to tell, and I hope some of you still enjoy it. But thank you for always reading, and reviewing- it makes my shitty days a little more bearable. Let me know if you liked it. :3**


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm sorry for the delay- I'm trying to write more. And honestly, (I know I keep saying this) I'm trying to finish Feel Good Drag and Uneasy Hearts. But for now, here's this.**

**Oh and to those kind souls asking if I'm okay, I am(: Just in a big slump right now. **

_"What the fuck is this?"_

_ "You asked me to make pasta with vodka sauce," Alison says quietly as she stands facing the sink, washing everything she cooked with. But suddenly she feels a heavy weight pressing against her back and she flinches as strong arms grab the plate from her hand and throw it on the ground. The loud shattering sound causes her to jump like a panicked deer._

_ "Yeah, and this tastes like shit," Wilden growls as he presses her hard against the sink, the counter digging into her torso._

_ "It tastes like how it always does," Alison argues weakly but it's of no use._

_ "Shut the fuck up when I'm talking!" Wilden snarls near her ear loudly and she trembles because she can feel his anger radiating violently. And she has no room to move between him and the counter- she has no escape, nowhere to run. "I ask you to do one simple thing and you fuck it up. You fucked it up!"_

_ He yells harshly and backs away as he grabs her arm and spins her around. Her chest rises and falls with each frightened breath she takes, unable to look him straight in the eyes. It's as if he feeds off of her ever increasing fear. It makes her sick to her stomach that he probably feels good about himself after. _

_ "When I tell you to do something, you fucking do it right, is that clear?"_

_ Alison nods pathetically and in one swift move, he grabs the plate with food off the table and hurls it at the wall behind her as the blonde yelps and cowers. _

_ "Fucking answer me!" his voice is loud, like a vicious bark, and it scares the blonde to death to see his face contorted in rage._

_ "Yes," she whimpers as he threateningly steps towards her. He doesn't stop this time and she closes her eyes and screams._

Alison's eyes shoot open and her breath is caught in her throat as she coughs slightly. She almost feels hung over- her eyes are sore, her throat is unbearably dry, her face feels gross and her hair feels matted to her head. It takes her a moment to calm down, but she soon remembers the room she's in- sweet Emily's. But her head begins to spin, and she realizes how incredibly dehydrated she is.

She's unsure if the sun has risen high or not, because Emily's blackout curtains are pulled shut (and she's grateful, because she doesn't want to face the day yet). The brunette's steady heartbeat calms her down, and she realizes Emily is still fast asleep, and that she is practically on top of the poor girl.

Alison makes a move to shift off of her but realizes that she's being held in place by Emily's arms, and she feels so utterly _safe_.

"Em," she whispers and her voice is scratchier than she realized. "Emmy."

"Hm," the brunette murmurs sleepily as her eyes flutter open very slowly. It surprises Alison that her own heart still races (under such circumstances) at the sight of Emily's beautiful face.

Emily's grip loosens slightly and her hands soothingly rub Alison's back reflexively.

"I need water," she says quietly as she lifts her head up and then rests it back on her chest.

"I'll get you some," Emily says yawning and makes a move to get up but Alison won't get off of her. She looks at the blonde with a small smile and tries to move again but the blonde still won't budge.

"But I don't want you to get up," she mumbles childishly as she presses her weight down on Emily.

"You should drink water though, you're probably dehydrated," Emily insists.

"You stay here, don't get up, don't leave," Alison warns and she's a little out of it, she knows, because Emily can't really leave…it's her house. But she doesn't want the brunette to move right now, doesn't want the possibility of Emily abandoning her (but deep down she knows she would never).

"Please just stay here," Alison begs and Emily relents and lets go of the blonde. She climbs off and goes to the bathroom and grabs a tall glass of water. Slowly she drinks it, and then refills it before heading back out. Alison won't even look at her self in the mirror right now for fear she'd cringe and hide.

When she walks back out, she sees Emily lying there obediently waiting and she can't get back into bed fast enough.

"Sorry," she says as she crawls under the sheets but Emily guides her so her back is pressed against Emily's front and the brunette has a strong wrap around her.

"You have nothing to be afraid of with me," Emily reassures as she removes any bit of space there was between her and her blonde. And this time, Alison doesn't mind the lack of distance between her body and another.

"I know that," Alison says softly as she holds Emily's hand and shuts her eyes. "I know."

x-x-x

Emily sits at the table eating French toast quietly while casually browsing through a magazine. She's not really reading, and she eyes the blonde who is humming and cleaning up the counter. It makes Emily sigh happily to see that Ali had changed into a pair of her shorts and a t-shirt that are just loose enough to look adorable on her.

Her mind is in a daze, like she can't really fully process everything that was told to her just hours ago. There are too many feelings of anger, fear, sadness, and love- and they overwhelm her completely.

She gets up and goes over to the sink where Alison stands washing dishes quietly, and she stands behind her wrapping her arms around the blonde. Emily feels her tense for a moment before relaxing. Cautiously, she pulls aside the fabric at Ali's shoulder and places her soft lips on her skin and kisses her lightly. It's the only thing she can think to do at this moment.

Alison shudders at the sensation and pauses her movement for a moment.

"Good morning," Emily says softly into her ear before she places a kiss on the sensitive part right behind it.

The blonde turns the water off and turns around while putting her arms around Emily's neck. She leans up to kiss her and for a moment, both their worlds are back to normal.

The kiss is slow and lazy and wonderful, Alison thinks it's just what she needed.

"I feel like we still need to talk," Alison murmurs gently against Emily's lips when they pull apart and the brunette nods.

"Let's get dressed. I wanna show you something."

x-x-x

"Oh my god! Em this place is beautiful," Alison says in awe of their surroundings. Emily can't fight the smile that she wears as she watches Alison stare with her mouth open and blue eyes sparkling with glee.

The two of them stand in a brand new, state-of-the-art commercial kitchen. Alison looks like a child on Christmas who catches Santa sneaking into the house. Emily has taken her to one of the best culinary institutes downtown, and she's enjoying watching the blonde explore the inside.

"You should take classes here, at least for a few months if nothing else."

"Okay as much as I'd love to, because this place is like a fantasy, I can't afford this Emily! And I'm not letting you pay for it," she adds at the end with a warning look towards the brunette.

Emily puts her hands up defensively.

"You can pay for it if you want to. But please hear me out."

Alison looks at her questioningly as she leans against an island counter.

"Aria is dating this guy Ezra, and his family owns The Fitzgerald Hotel downtown," Emily explains. "I know Ezra could get you in to the restaurant to work serving tables. They get at least $150 a night in tips, sometimes two hundred, and I know because I've eaten there before. Not to mention they still get hourly. Would you consider working there? You could afford to take classes here!"

"I couldn't pay my parents back or pay rent on that kind of budget," Alison says hesitatingly though the offer sounds tempting.

"Forget your parents for a moment, they can wait a bit. I was thinking…" Emily struggles to say but can't get the words out.

"What?" Alison asks comfortingly noticing her hesitation. She takes Emily's hand into hers and holds it kindly. "You don't have to be nervous about saying anything."

"I just…I thought…maybe you could…move in," Emily finally says and when Alison doesn't respond right away she quickly adds, "but I thought it might be too soon."

"What if something were to happen Em? What if we get in a fight, what if we get tired of each other? I mean God forbid any of that happen because I don't think I can live without you, but still, it'd be so messy," Alison says gently. Her mind is saying no, but Emily can read that the rest of Alison will give in with a gentle push.

And Emily knows this isn't the wisest option, but she's never been so sure of anything else in her life. It makes her feel disoriented when she thinks about how fast they're moving, but she doesn't know how either of them could slow it down at this point. Of course there is absolutely no need for marriage proposals or anything drastic at the moment, but the two of them could never now just be friends. And she has a feeling that this could really help Alison.

"So it's a bad idea?" Emily asks after a moment of thought and Alison sees the corner of her mouth tugging up into a smile. She remembers their first encounter just last week and their exchange of words about bad ideas.

"It's the worst idea, ever," Alison says with a tiny grin as she shakes her head. "So I guess we should do it. But you better let me help pay rent and all that."

"I wasn't about to let you be a free loader," Emily jokes as Alison gasps with a smile and shoves her lightly. But she knows Emily would have done that for her- she's pretty certain that the brunette will do anything for her. And that thought makes her so damn _happy._

_x-x_

"So you're okay here for a few hours? This meeting won't take long," Emily says as she gets ready in the evening for a dinner with one of her more esteemed professors to discuss a potential internship.

"Yes, Emily, for the sixth time I'm fine," Alison repeats but is only teasing the over careful brunette.

Emily blushes as she puts on her leather jacket and puts her heels on. When she stands up, she sees the blonde's darkened eyes staring at her from the corner of the bed where she's sitting.

"You look so good," Ali says, her voice still raspy and husky from the night before and it makes Emily's core throb. "Don't come home too late and _do not_ let the professor hit on you."

Emily shakes her head with a laugh.

"You won't fall asleep will you?"

"If I do, please, dear god, wake me up," Alison breathes as she licks her lips unconsciously while looking Emily up and down.

Emily lingers by the door and Alison realizes she's waiting for some sort of goodbye. So she gets on up and hops over to the brunette and instead of kissing her, she hugs her tightly, teasing the brunette as she wriggles her body against her torturously.

"Just wait til you come home, Emily Fields."

And wait Emily does. All she can think about during dinner is the multitude of ways she can please Alison. She wants to make the blonde feel loved, but she also wants her to feel alive and happy.

She comes up with more than a few ideas, and she has to cross her legs tightly while chatting with her professor.

But though she is excited, she isn't breaking the law and speeding to get home afterwards- which is why she is caught off guard when she is pulled over.

Emily complies, because, well, maybe she wasn't getting pulled over for a ticket. The officer gets out of the car on the side of the relatively empty city street and walks over to her window with a flashlight. It's painfully bright, and as she lowers the window and squints, he holds it up so as to illuminate her and the inside of the car.

"Good evening," he says to her with a snarky voice and she tries to look at the officer.

"Hey officer, I'm sorry is there a problem?"

"I don't know if you realized it, but you were going over the speed limit quite a bit, my radar said at least 5 miles over."

Emily frowns because she doesn't think she was, she hardly even drives a mile over the speed limit.

(She's a good driver, damnit, and who gets pulled over for going 5 over?)

"License and registration?"

"Sure," she says hastily pulling her wallet out and grabbing the registration from the glove compartment. "But sir I don't believe I was going that fast."

"Not according to my radar. Let me go run these and we'll talk after," he says, the flashlight never lowering. She hands him both and he walks to his car. Emily internally groans and slams her head back. Getting a ticket was quite the mood killer. She almost wishes Ali was here with her because she knows that the blonde could probably flirt their way out of it (and she knows that's a horrible thing to think, but she doesn't worry for a second that Alison could seriously look at someone else the way she looks at Emily).

She looks at her phone to see three texts from the blonde, the first being _Come homeee I'm getting tired of being dressed, _and then _But don't rush! And don't text and drive! _And finally, _Emmy I'm going to take a bath. _

The brunette laughs quietly, happy that the blonde isn't as morose as she was yesterday night. She knows the two still have things to work out and talk about, but the important part is that now there are no secrets, now they can move forward and-

"Here Ms. Fields," the officer walks back without the annoying flashlight and hands her the two items. He flashes her a grin and leans with his arm above the window. Emily can see his face finally- he has a hard jaw and an off-putting smile that makes her uneasy for some reason. "You seem like a nice girl, so I'll let you off with a warning this time. I bet a girl like you has someone waiting at home for her."

"Yeah," she says with a soft smile as she pictures the blonde that has a hold of her heart. He nods at her with an eerie look.

"Thanks Officer-" and her voice dies instantly as she reads his name tag: Wilden.

x-x-x

Emily walks into her apartment in a frenzied state, and she shuts the door behind her and triple locks it. She can faintly hear music playing but she doesn't see the blonde.

"Alison!" she calls as she throws her heels off and puts her jacket on the couch. "Ali where are you?"

There's no answer and she looks around the living room and kitchen for a few seconds with growing panic. Frustrated, she goes over and flings her bedroom door open. There, Alison stands staring at her in surprise in the open bathroom, completely naked, and brushing her hair while listening to the radio. Emily blushes deeply.

"Knock much?"

"Sorry, I thought maybe you left or something," Emily mutters as she looks away.

"I told you I was taking a bath," Alison says softly as she puts the brush down and walks over to her lovely brunette.

"I also told you I was tired of being dressed. So I saved you the trouble, and I didn't put clothes back on," she purrs as she wraps her naked body around Emily and holds her close.

"Alison…" Emily tries to speak but suddenly all thoughts of fear and Wilden and all that were pushed to the back as Ali grabs her hands and places them on her bare ass while she rocks her hips against Emily.

"I think we just need this tonight, don't you?" Alison whispers in her ear huskily and Emily nods furiously as she tells herself she'll deal with the creepy incident tomorrow. The blonde brings her head down to Emily's neck and kisses gently, her soft lips dragging down to the hollow base of her throat and sucking lightly. Emily moans and has to keep herself steady on her feet as her hands grab at Alison's ass, pulling her closer.

"Did you think about me during dinner?" Alison asks as she breathes against Emily's skin.

"Yes," Emily barely manages to get out as the blonde pulls away from her.

"What were you thinking of?" Ali asks as she walks over to the bed and watches Emily's dark eyes follow her.

"Um…I…was…um…" Emily can't speak as she watches the blonde crawl on the bed and lie on her back, arms above her head, and her legs slightly crossed playfully as she bites her lip.

Alison smirks and motions for Emily to come sit next to her. The brunette wastes no time in getting on the bed and hovering over Alison hungrily instead of sitting next to her.

"Wanna know what I was thinking of?"

Emily nods, her eyes roaming up and down Alison- they linger in all the right places.

"Letting you have your way with me while I behaved like a good girl," Alison says in such a sensual, sweet voice that Emily can feel her panties become soaked instantly.

She leans down and lets her lips teasingly hover over Alison's before the blonde reaches up and grabs the back of her head and pulls her down, their lips smashing together and Emily roughly kissing her. As their tongues fight for dominance, Emily drops her thigh down between Ali's legs and the blonde instantly moans and Emily takes the chance to let her tongue sweep the inside of her mouth before pulling back and biting her bottom lip.

Alison is writhing beneath the brunette in pleasure. She begins to feel sensory overload as she thrusts her hip up against Emily's jean clad thigh and the rough denim hitting her sex sends shivers down her spine.

Emily gasps because she can feel how wet Alison is through her jeans. She pulls back and lets a hand roam all the way down from Ali's chest to the dripping slit between her thighs. The brunette moans reverently as her fingers drag teasingly up and down Ali's wet, soft flesh, and the blonde can't take it- she _has _to feel Emily too. Her hands clumsily grab at Emily's shirt and the brunette laughs softly before helping her pull it off.

"Clothes off, now," Alison demands and Emily raises an eyebrow at her.

"I thought you were going to be a good girl," she teases but Alison thinks it's so incredibly sexy to hear Emily say anything dirty.

"I am being good," she says innocently as she watches Emily pull off the rest of her clothes. When her lovely brunette is no longer hidden by fabric, Alison stares at her longingly with dark, dark eyes.

"You're so fucking beautiful," Alison breathes and her heart is pounding as Emily puts both hands on either side of Alison and presses her weight down against the blonde, attacking her neck with her lips.

She feels Emily's hand land on her breast and feels her nipple being pinched between her thumb and forefinger before Emily rolls it in her fingers. Alison throws her head back in pleasure and whimpers as Emily lets her teeth graze the skin and nips at it while her fingers continue to tease Alison's hardened nipple.

"Please, Em," Alison whimpers as her hips buck up and attempt to create friction against Emily's thigh.

The brunette grins against her neck as she lets her hand drop between her legs, and she begins to thrust easily in and out of Alison with two fingers. Gradually she brings Alison to the edge, and the blonde's body tenses, her muscles tightening and shaking as Emily curls her fingers. A loud moan is ripped from her and she breathes heavily, her mind still in a state of euphoria.

But when Emily tries to kneel backwards and sit up, Alison quickly pulls her down and flips them over so she's on top of her.

"Ali-"

"We're not done yet," Ali murmurs as she runs her hands up and down Emily, loving the shivers she can evoke. The sound of Emily's shallow breaths and tiny whimpers only fuel her need to please the brunette.

She wastes no time in sliding down between her legs and dragging her lips up the side of Emily's trembling thigh before licking long and hard at Emily's dripping slit. It's only a matter of minutes before Emily becomes undone and cums with her hands wrapped up in Alison's hair holding her head to her sex.

When they finish, Alison falls asleep quickly with her head nuzzled into the crook of Emily's neck and the brunette lies wide awake, unable to keep thoughts of Wilden away any more. But she lets herself indulge in Alison's naked body and she eventually falls asleep.

x-x-x

Alison's eyes shoot open in panic early the next morning after a frightening nightmare. Her mind is racing. It's not the first time she's dreamnt of Wilden actually _taking advantage of her,_ but it's definitely no more pleasant now, the ninth time, than any other time. And her panic doesn't die when she realizes she's in bed alone. Her separation anxiety begins to kick in and she jumps up, vulnerable and naked, and throws on a long shirt of Emily's before running out into the living room.

But the worried blonde can't see Emily anywhere, and she runs over to the door and locks it out of fear when she sees the top two locks unlocked (she always has her own door triple locked at home).

"Emily?" she calls out, her voice wavering. "Emily are you here?"

When she receives no answer she goes back into the bedroom and snatches her cell phone up off the ground (they must've knocked it off the table last night) and desperately calls the brunette with shaking hands.

x

"You're one hundred percent positive that was him?"

"Cece it said Wilden on the badge!"

Emily sits at Cece's kitchen counter as the older blonde makes tea for both of them. She is still half asleep since Emily had shown up at six thirty am, apologizing repeatedly but too worried to sleep.

The brunette had been careful not to wake up Alison, and planned to be back before eight thirty when the blonde normally woke up.

She knew which apartment was Cece's, Alison had pointed it out the last time she'd dropped her off. And she knew the older blonde sincerely cared about Ali, so she wanted to know if Cece thought the run in with Wilden was coincidence or something more sinister.

"I mean if you didn't notice him following you beforehand, it was probably a freak coincidence," Cece reassures her. "But that is really fucking creepy considering that you just found out what happened."

"She told me everything, god he's a fucking psycho," Emily breathed angrily.

"He's come around more than once to the strip club," Cece says quietly as she pours tea into cups for both of them. "I've just always got her out without her knowing about it. I don't think he knows she works there, but he does the routine legal checks on it. Anyway the last thing I want is to watch her have a meltdown in that place. You know the last time she saw Wilden, she was crying within seconds of seeing him."

"What do I do? He ran my license, for all I know he could've copied down the address and everything!"

"I thought we just established he wasn't following you beforehand. If that's the case it's no big-"

They're suddenly both distracted by Cece's phone ringing and vibrating. The blonde looks down before she frowns at Emily.

"It's Alison."

She picks up quickly. "Ali?"

Emily watches as Cece's face slips into worry. "Calm down—babe, calm down. Emily's fine—no she did not leave you! Emily's right here—yes hun she's right here—no I didn't take her away—Emily will you please talk to her?"

The brunette snatches the phone worriedly from Cece's outstretched hand and hears Alison's hysterical breathing on the other end.

"Alison, it's me, please calm down," Emily begins.

"Emily, I-I-I woke u-up and you weren't here…" Alison cries on the other end.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't sleep and I didn't want to wake you up," Emily apologizes, feeling terrible for stressing the blonde out like this.

"Wh-h-h-y'd you l-l-l-leave," Alison stutters through hiccups.

"I needed to talk to Cece, I'll leave now and come home so just stay in bed. I'll be home in ten minutes."

"Okay," Alison managed to whimper through soft sobs and Emily feels terrible for just leaving, but she had been so panicked. And now she doesn't know whether or not to tell Alison.

She hangs up and hands the phone back to Cece. "How come she didn't call me?" Emily wonders out loud but looks at her phone and sees seven missed calls from Alison. Oops.

"I'll put the tea in a tumbler, you can give it to her," Cece comments as she rummages through the cabinets. "Chamomile is her favorite. And if I were you, I wouldn't tell her about it yet. She'll go absolutely hysterical."

"I never knew she was hurting this bad," Emily shakes her head and leans on the counter tiredly.

"I didn't know what else to do, I'm not a certified fuckin therapist," Cece shrugs. "So I taught her how to be a fucking strong, tough bitch. But that didn't fix anything. And that's the best I could do. And then you came, and I knew you could do things for her that I could never."

"You're still a good friend," Emily says with a small smile. "I'm sorry I woke you up so early. And I'm sorry I have to run."

"It's okay. It's for Ali. And I'd do anything for that little bitch," Cece says with a grin. "Put my number in your phone. And call me if you need anything okay?"

"Alright," Emily says pulling out her phone.

"Take care of Alison. And take care of yourself too."

X

"Ali!"

Emily kicks her shoes off as soon as she shuts her door and locks it, and then she makes a beeline for her bedroom. She goes in and finds Alison with the sheets pulled up around her tightly and Emily can see her figure shaking through the blankets.

"I brought you tea," Emily tries to say with a smile but she sees Alison looking at her through hurt eyes.

"Why'd you leave? And go to Cece?" she asks in a raspy, tired voice as she stares at Emily.

"I couldn't sleep," Emily sighs.

"So you went to Cece?!" Alison's voice almost screeches and Emily opens her mouth to explain but Alison shrinks under the blankets. "You left me-"

"Obviously it wasn't like _that_," Emily gasps horrified that Alison would even insinuate that. "I would never do that to you."

Alison doesn't reply and lies still, under the sheets.

"Cece made you tea. She said it's chamomile, your favorite."

Alison looks warily at her before she gradually sits up and wraps the covers around her. Emily hands her the tumbler and lets her drink for a few minutes in silence and calm down. She gradually puts her hand on Alison's knee and considers it a victory when the blonde doesn't flinch or pull away.

"I'm sorry," Emily says quietly as she looks carefully at Alison and watches the blonde's face finally soften a bit. The hollow look has left her eyes and she looks more awake, more present.

"I know, I'm sorry," Ali sighs and holds her head in her hands. "I hate being so vulnerable like that."

And it's true- Alison has never let herself open up like that to anybody. She hardly let Cece see her cry, because the older blonde would tell her that crying didn't truly fix anything. The last time Alison had opened up to someone fully (before Cece) had been with Wilden, and she swore she'd never let herself be weak like that ever here she was, exposing her soul to a girl she's known for not even two weeks- and she can't _help it, _she's terrified that Emily will leave her, and indadvertedly hurt her in the process.

She doesn't believe Emily would intentionally hurt her, but she also believes that she isn't good enough. And it's like it's programmed in her head for her to never fully be able to trust anyone ever again. And she hates that.

"No don't be sorry, it's okay. I think you've held it in for so long and now it's just weird for you to finally let it out. "

"But you weren't…you know…with Cece…"

"Alison!"

"Just checking," she says sheepishly and looks down as she sips from her tumbler. When she looks back up she sees Emily giving her an incredulous stare. "Cece's hot! I don't know."

"It's just you Alison, I just want you," Emily reassures her as she kisses her forehead.

"I know," she repeats, her voice cracking as she speaks and she finally wraps her arms around Emily and hugs her tightly. "I feel like I've known you my entire life."

Emily smiles, and she loves the way Alison breathes her in- she can feel the blonde relaxing as she inhales her scent. She squirms out of the hug and kisses Alison lightly on the lips. "I know."

**Meep. For those of you who like to review, it truly makes me smile. And I mean to reply to them, because like I always say, I super appreciate hearing all your thoughts- they make my shitty days less shitty. Thank you for reading! I hope you all have lovely days. **


	9. Chapter 9

**I love Sasha. That is all. **

"I got it!" Emily calls to Alison, who is in the bathroom, as she walks out of her bedroom to check who is knocking on the door. She grows nervous at the thought that maybe it's Wilden and he's finally found them because of that speeding ordeal- it isn't just Alison having nightmares anymore. But after she looks through the peephole, she flings the door open.

"Hanna?!"

"Surprise! We didn't get to see you at New Years, so we thought we'd visit," Hanna says with a grin. It was two weekends after New Year's day, and Emily was back in school with Alison now working at The Fitzgerald.

(Emily had made it clear to Ezra that nobody from home was to know she was hired there- these days safety and privacy were her priority)

"Wait, who's we?"

She sees two brunettes coming down the hall and her stress suddenly increases tenfold. Emily loves Spencer to pieces, but she hasn't talked to any of them, especially not her, since the last disastrous visit.

"Hey Em!" Aria greets cheerfully.

"Aren't you guys back in school?" Emily asks with a frown.

"We're glad to see you too," Spencer quips sarcastically. "And it's called a weekend."

"Are you going to let us in?" Hanna asks impatiently with an impish grin.

"Babe, who is it?"

All four hear Alison call from behind Emily- and as the blonde appears and wraps her arms around Emily from behind, her facial expression immediately changes when she sees the visitors.

"Oh, hi," she simply says as she struggles to put a smile on.

"So this is still a thing," Spencer comments dryly and Aria elbows her. Emily narrows her eyes and wonders if Spencer's told them what she knew.

"We wanted to surprise Emily, so we decided to invite ourselves over to crash at her place," Hanna tells Alison brightly, clearly still enthusiastic about the blonde.

"Wish I had friends like you guys," Alison says with a small smile as she nuzzles Emily with her head affectionately.

"Alison lives with me now," the brunette says cautiously. The two of them suddenly catch all the judgmental stares. "But you guys can totally crash in the living room."

"Fine with me," Spencer immediately says and Alison's eyes narrow at her, knowing the brunette is just trying to get a rise out of her.

"Yeah, I'll make her sleep on the floor," Hanna adds with a smile.

X

The five girls decide to leave and walk through the nearest mall, and surprisingly it is Emily that is glued to Alison's side, not the other way around. The brunette feels more protective than ever with Spencer around, and she hasn't had a chance yet to lecture the witty Hastings about how wrong she is.

"Can we please go into Victoria's Secret? I need new lingerie, I'm tired of my old shit," Hanna asks though she's already begins to stray towards the pink store.

"Sure, why not, whatever Hanna wants," Aria jokes quietly and Emily smirks.

"Shut up, Ezra and Toby are probably bored of seeing you two in the same old boring black stuff," Hanna throws back with a smirk and then she looks at Emily and Alison, still off to the side holding hands. "I don't know about you two but I'm sure Alison's got great lingerie. Em maybe you need to step up your game."

"Emily is hotter without anything on," Alison says with a devilish smile though she feels Emily hit her with their intertwined hands.

"Ali!" she exclaims quietly under her breath even though the blonde just shrugs.

"What? It's true."

"Girl you need to help me find stuff," Hanna says grabbing Alison's free hand. "Emily can I please borrow your hot girlfriend so she can help me pick out stuff to wear?"

Emily sighs and rolls her eyes at Hanna's antics as she lets go of Alison.

"Don't worry, I won't look," Alison says softly as she looks at Emily with a wink but a genuine smile and kisses her on the cheek.

"Alright lovebird, I'm just taking you to the other side of the store, not the other side of the world," Hanna quips as she pulls Alison with her. Alison smiles and is thoroughly amused with the chirpy blonde. She'd liked Hanna when she met her.

As soon as the two blondes are out of sight, Spencer and Aria whip around quickly to Emily and the brunette feels ambushed.

"Seriously? You already let her move in? How well do you even know her?" Spencer asks accusingly and Emily glares at her.

"Back off Spencer, you're not my mom," Emily snaps.

"I hate to break it to you, but you _don't_ know her," Spencer argues and Emily aggressively steps toward her.

"I do too Spencer, and it's not how you think it is."

"Did she give you the same speech she gave everyone else?"

"She gave me the _truth_!"

"Did I miss something?" Aria steps in, confused. The two just look at her frustrated. She puts her hands up defensively. "I thought we were just discussing how it's too soon to move in."

"Spencer is just being judgmental as usual," Emily says through gritted teeth.

"I'm just protecting you," Spencer shoots back.

"Well someone's gotta protect Alison. And too bad the Hastings couldn't do that," Emily says angrily.

"Okay now I'm really confused," Aria interjects.

Meanwhile, Hanna holds up yet another red lacy bra that Alison looks at for a brief moment before shrugging.

"Come on, it's cute isn't it?" Hanna asks impatiently.

"You said 'bold and sexy' if I remember correctly," Alison says with a raised eyebrow.

"Ugh yes, what did you wear at work?"

Alison freezes, realizing what Hanna means. She looks carefully at the other blonde.

"How'd you know?"

"Emily's mom told us," Hanna shrugs. She keeps sorting through underwear and pulls a lacy purple thong out. But when she looks back, she sees Alison standing uncomfortably. "What? I'm not judging you, if I wanted to be an asshole about it I would've done that already. I think it's kinda hot."

Alison relaxes a little, relieved that Hanna isn't taking it too seriously.

"I'm not anymore if that makes a difference."

"What are you doing?"

"Waitressing, officially," Alison says with a smile and Hanna smiles back.

"Good. Now please tell me this is sexy."

"Try again," Alison teases as Hanna groans and throws back yet another pair of panties.

X

"I don't have to explain myself or Alison to you," Emily snaps angrily. "You should trust me. I'm one of your best friends, Spencer."

"I do! I trust _you_. It's her I don't trust."

"You don't even know her!"

"I read up my mom's old case files. Did you know her sister's in a psych ward? That being a psycho runs in their family?"

"I knew that!" Emily growls as she gets in Spencer's face. "She told me _everything_."

"Guys!" Aria shouts for the fourth time, pushing herself between the two heated brunettes. "What the hell are you two talking about? Spencer how the hell do you know Alison?"

"Emily can explain it to you," Spencer huffs frustrated as she crosses her arms.

"I didn't ask Emily, I asked you. Besides, why are we attacking her again? Poor Alison, she seems nice and all despite the stripping thing-"

"How do you know about that?" Emily jumps in.

"Your mom told us. We ran into her back home."

"Well she's not anymore-"

Emily's phone begins to ring and she sighs. "Hold on," she insists as she picks up. "Hello?"

"Em your girlfriend looks fucking hot in the lingerie I picked out for her!" Hanna squeals over the phone.

"I picked it out myself!" Emily hears Alison say in the background and she can't help but laugh when Hanna tells her 'shut up, it was mostly my decision'.

"I'm glad you're getting your shopping done," Emily teases.

"I'm doing this for _your_ benefit," Hanna says proudly but Alison once again speaks up in the background.

"She wanted to see how it looked on me before she tried," Alison says loudly.

"Well I knew if it looked hot on her it might look hot on me," Hanna justifies herself and Emily laughs finally. "Don't you wanna see?"

"Send a picture, I'm a little busy right now," Emily says softly.

"You'd like that wouldn't you? No you have to come see it now. You can't be too busy to see your hot girlfriend in her new panties."

"I can't afford these Hanna!" Emily hears in the back and she shakes her head, the smirk never disappearing from her face.

"Shut up Alison I told you I have a credit card here!"

"That's not the same as a gift card Hanna!"

"Oh my god, okay I'll be there in a minute, don't kill yourselves," Emily muses as she hangs up. She looks back to both Spencer and Aria. "I'm going over to see Hanna and Alison. And you all are more than welcome to stay, I really appreciate that you came. But if you say one word to make Alison uncomfortable, you can leave."

The two aren't used to this abrasive, defensive Emily and they just nod slowly. Spencer has to force herself not to speak.

When they get over to the dressing rooms, Emily calls out for Hanna.

"Right here!" Hanna yells from behind a door and the three hear Ali squeak in protest with a small scuffle, and then the door suddenly flies open.

"Hanna!" she shrieks as playfully as she blushes, her arms quickly wrapping around her body.

"Hanna I don't want the whole world to see my girlfriend half naked!" Emily says laughing as Alison glares at Hanna, embarrassed.

"Emily your friend is torturing me," Alison complains but there's a twinkle in her eye that lets the brunette know she's kidding.

"Oh please you'd love that, little miss kinky over here!" Hanna smirks and Alison hits her horrified.

"Shut up!"

"She's going to find out at some point," Hanna shrugs and looks at Emily who is looking at the two of them with curious eyes. They are quite a sight- Alison is standing in deep purple lacy lingerie with her arms crossed in the corner, and Hanna is half dressed with jeans on and a bra with her hands on her hips and a smirk on her face.

Aria and Spencer just look on silently with wide eyes.

"Em shut the door!" Alison whines childishly and Emily gives in.

"Okay, Hanna, get out," Emily says shaking her head as she walks in and Hanna practically skips out.

"You're welcome," Hanna says in a singsong voice and Emily pulls the door shut and locks it. She looks at Alison who is blushing hard.

"What's this about being kinky?"

"What's this about me being your girlfriend?"

Now it's Emily's turn to blush- they hadn't officially discussed their relationship, both of them had been too busy. Of course it was understood, but neither had really asked.

"I'd love to be," Alison says, nudging Emily gently with a small smile on her face and the brunette looks at her slowly.

"For real?"

"For very real," Alison jokes as she wraps her arms around Emily's neck and leans in lovingly. "Sorry, you can't get rid of me now."

"I would never," Emily says with a cheesy grin spreading across her face. Alison giggles softly and presses her lips to Emily's. They are suddenly interrupted though.

"I need my shirt!"

The two hear Hanna banging on the door from outside and Alison's eyes twinkle with mischief. She slams Emily against the door of the stall with a loud thud and brings her hand up to squeeze her right breast while aggressively kissing her. Emily can't stop the natural loud moan that escapes her and the two hear Hanna yell "Ew guys!" in disgust and leave.

"Ali!" Emily scolds but the blonde looks at her innocently.

"She was killing the vibe!"

"You're a bundle of trouble," Emily shakes her head.

"But I'm YOUR bundle of trouble," Alison says as she keeps her body pressed against Emily. "And now, you have me in sexy lingerie in a dark dressing room. Don't just stand there."

Emily finally lets her hands come to settle on her hips and pull her closer. Her hands begin to slip behind and hold Alison's ass, gripping tightly as she rests her face in the crook of Ali's neck and places little kisses on it.

"Better?"

"Is that all you've got?"

The blonde suddenly gasps as she feels Emily flip them around with force and drop to her knees. Alison can't even think before Emily grabs the panties she's wearing and pulls them down and they fall to her feet. Her hands rest on Alison's thighs and gently nudge them apart and Alison whimpers as Emily's lips trace up the inside of her thigh.

Alison closes her eyes and leans back against the door. "Okay, better."

X

"Loosen up come on!" Hannah screams over the loud music in the night club as she holds her drink in one hand and pulls Emily along with the other. The brunette sighs, not knowing how she got talked into a night out clubbing. But she remembers that Alison had looked at her with a pout when the other girls had insisted on it, and she knew the blonde was dying to let loose and go out. So she had agreed, but only because she wanted the rest of them to be happy.

"But Alison is over t-"

"She's fine, she's with Aria and Spencer, they won't bite," Hanna says as she approaches the bar and yanks Emily up to the counter. "Two shots of tequila with lime for this one!"

Hanna calls out and the bartender acknowledges her with a grin and nod.

"Tequila?! No!"

"Oh relax, last time wasn't so bad," Hanna muses but they both remember it clearly- Hanna had dragged Emily out despite Paige's wishes and gotten her fucked up on tequila. Emily had been a staggering, hot mess and way too flirty that night for her own good. Paige had shown up and caught her being overly flirty with a boy, obviously non-intentionally, and dragged her home. What Hanna _didn't_ know was that Paige had yelled at Emily all night relentlessly and they ended up in a physical fight over it.

"I don't want Alison to see me like that," Emily worries as flashes of Paige screaming at her cross her mind.

"Alison loves you. She's fucking crazy about you," Hanna reassures her. "She'll probably try to take advantage of drunk you."

Emily looks at her strangely and Hanna clarifies. "You're just very handsy when you're drunk."

"I don't know-"

"She's not Paige," Hanna says firmly as though she can read Emily's mind.

"But-"

"Emily Fields, drink the fuck up!"

x

Alison hangs out on the dance floor with Aria and Spencer. She likes Aria a lot, it's just Spencer that she still can't get past. The tiny brunette is quite buzzed and keeps holding on to Alison for balance, and Ali can't help but smile kindly at her. But she notices Spencer giving her dirty looks, and she can't help but feel Spencer is not only wary of her, but jealous of the attention all the girls are giving her- particularly Aria right now.

Still, Alison doesn't let it phase her and continues to sip her drink and dance with Aria. If she liked Spencer, she would feel bad that Spencer was the only sober one as DD.

"Hey gorgeous."

Alison turns around at the feel of someone's hand on her lower back. But it's not who she wants to see- it's a stuck up blonde guy who looks like he cares more about his looks than anything else.

"Sorry I'm not interested," she quips and he raises an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah, she's not interested," Aria adds for her.

"What? Are you fuckin gay or something?" he asks with a laugh.

"None of your fucking business," Alison says with suddenly stormy blue eyes. Her claws came out easily when strangers irritated her. "Get lost."

He rolls his eyes and walks away.

x

Half an hour later, Alison is antsy to find Emily. She hasn't seen the brunette since she watched Hanna whisk her off in an attempt to get her drunk. As much as she likes hanging out with Aria, she is getting drunk and needs Emily.

"Let's go find the other two," Alison says loudly to Aria and the brunette nods. They go off in search of their two friends, with Spencer in a reluctant tow.

When they make their way over to the bar, Alison sees the two standing off to the corner with two guys where there are a few tall tables. As her eyes narrow and she approaches, she recognizes one pretty boy as the guy who was hitting on her- and he has his hands all over what appears to be a drunk Emily.

Spencer catches sight of Alison's drunk eyes darkening and she whispers, "Watch this" to Aria as Alison storms up to the table.

"Hey asshole," she says snidely.

"You again," he says irritated.

"Yes, me," she says and sees Emily looking at her hungrily with suddenly almost black eyes. She smirks because she knows she looks damn good tonight- she's wearing a red strapless dress that barely hits mid-thigh and it makes her ass look amazing, not to mention her boobs are falling out of her dress.

It makes her smug smile widen when she sees the guy look at Emily as she pulls away from him.

"Ali, can we go dance?" Emily asks (but it sounds more like a demand) as she licks her lips, the alcohol setting a buzz throughout her body as warm sensations shoot straight to her core at the sight of Alison.

"Of course," Alison says with a smile and the guy looks on with an angry face. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go dance with my incredibly sexy girlfriend."

With that, the two pull each other to the dance floor, laughing and groping and stumbling the whole way.

And unbeknownst to them, there are bitter eyes watching from the shadows.

X

_He watches as the four girls stand in the distance, dancing. But he focuses on the blonde in front of him. _

_ "Can I have your number?" he asks politely and she smiles- he recognizes that look. It's sympathetic. _

_ "I'm sorry, I'm dating someone."_

_ "I should have guessed that a pretty girl like you would be taken," he says apologetically but his insides are turning. Of course she's taken already. _

_ "You're a great guy, I'm sure you'll find someone soon."_

_ "What did you say your name was?"_

_ "Hanna, what was yours?"_

_ "Derrick." Lie._

_ "Nice meeting you, I've got to get back to my friends though."_

_ "Is that them over there?"_

_ "Yeah, those four!"_

_ "Oh, the blonde is pretty-"_

_ "Don't even think about it, she's taken by my best friend right there- that sexy brunette."_

_ He feels his anger boil. So his suspicions were right. They had been too close to be roommates. But he smiles politely._

_ "Well, I'm sure I'll see you around sometime."_

_ "Probably not," Hanna says with a small smile. "Have a good night."_

**Pretty sure you all know what's coming. Let me know what you think, aka review :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**I want to see drunk Emily and Alison on the real show.**

Alison sits perched on one of the bar stools as Emily stands between her legs, hunger clear in her eyes.

"Baby, why not," Emily pouts as she slides her hands up and down the blonde's thighs. Alison stifles a laugh because she's never heard Emily use 'baby' as a term of endearment, and it just sounds funny coming from an eloquent girl like Em.

"Because we're at a club," Alison says firmly as she puts both hands on either side of Emily's face and lets her thumbs stroke the soft skin, which was warm from the alcohol.

Emily's boundaries have disappeared for the night- she's no longer the innocent shy angel that Alison met- and for tonight Alison is completely okay with that.

"There are bathrooms," Emily says as she lets herself enjoy Alison's soft touch before pulling away and then attaching her mouth to Ali's neck. The blonde's mouth drops open slightly with a moan as she tilts her head to offer the brunette more skin.

"Babe…ew…no," Alison breathes deeply, referring to the bathroom suggestion.

"But what if I told you a secret," Emily says over the music with a goofy smile as her mouth hovers over Alison's ear, the hot breath sending shivers down her spine. Ali is _so_ not prepared for this drunk, super horny Emily. "I'm so wet for you right now."

Alison feels an intense heat and rush of desire shoot straight through her down to her core, causing her to tremble. She feels the familiar aching throb pulsate furiously as her breathing complicates. The brunette has never been so bold, and it turns her on like no other.

"Jesus, Em, stop," Ali says pulling away, her expression playfully stern. Emily pouts, eyes begging and Ali almost gives in. The brunette takes the moment of distraction and lets her fingers slip up Ali's thigh under her dress.

"There you two are," they hear Hanna say loudly as she approaches. Alison struggles to smile back as Emily drags her nails back down her thigh to her knees.

"Are we about ready to leave?" Aria asks, tipsy and oblivious to the blatant sexual activity in front of her. "It's almost two."

"We are so ready to leave," Emily says with a smirk, looking back at Alison. She leans in to Ali's ear and nibbles on the earlobe, drunkenly letting her tongue swirl around on the outer part of the blonde's ear. "Are you ready?"

Alison can only nod, her voice caught in her throat.

x

As they finally stumble out of the club, the three other girls walk in front of the couple. Emily stays one or two paces behind Alison, which puzzles the blonde.

"What are you doing?" Ali asks, confused as she stops and turns around, and Emily stops behind her.

Emily just smiles cheekily and Alison gasps with a grin. "Oh my god you're totally checking out my ass."

"Does that make me naughty?" Emily taunts, stepping forward and clumsily pulling Alison's hips against her. The blonde's jaw drops, never expecting to hear the brunette taunt her so boldly. "Don't naughty girls get punished?"

Emily giggles and bites her lip, loving the way Alison is looking at her. Emily grabs the blonde's chin between her thumb and index finger, tilting her head up,

"So, I know you retired," Emily drawls as she lets her eyes fixate on Alison's delicious cleavage before bringing them up to her face again. "But you'll still be my stripper right?"

"That depends, what do I get in return?"

"Sex, lots and lots of sex," Emily declares bluntly with a smile on her face and Alison bursts into laughter. But suddenly she squeals at a strong sensation-

"Did you just pinch my nipple?!" Alison asks incredulously as she brings her arms up to cover her chest in feigned horror. The brunette had literally just went for it while she had been mid laughter.

"Surprise," Emily says with a grin and Alison playfully slaps her.

"Hey, you two, keep it in your pants," Hanna calls from ahead.

"I don't want to," Emily calls back gleefully as she spins the blonde around and wraps her arms around from behind. She walks forward, swaying, and Alison has to steady her as she holds on to Emily's hands that are around her.

As they approach the car, there are two guys standing a few cars away staring at them.

"Damn, girl you're too pretty," one of them says to Alison who smiles politely.

"Too bad she's mine," Emily says with a smirk.

"What?! No way," the other says as his eyes roam up and down the two of them.

"Yeah, she's all mine," Emily says as she lets her hand roam up to Alison's breast. The blonde doesn't have time to register what's happening before Emily squeezes hard. She then pulls herself away, spinning around and facing the brunette.

"Emily!" she chastises while the two guys make appreciative noises.

"Bet you've never been with a real man before," the first guy says to Alison. "Either of you."

Emily's eyes narrow.

"I bet that I can make her scream louder than you ever could when my fingers are deep inside her pus-"

"That's enough," Alison says blushing deep red as she slams her hand against Emily's mouth. She turns to the two men with a look of irritation on her face. "We're leaving now."

"But baby," Emily complains teasingly as she stumbles while Alison pulls her. "You look so hot when you ride my fingers and-"

"Ew! Emily!" Hanna exclaims as she comes up to them, attempting to get them in the car. Hanna looks apologetically at the almost sober blonde. "Emily and tequila equals-"

"Horny. Very, very horny," Alison finishes knowingly as she shakes her head with a grin. "I can't say I'll complain about it when we get home."

"Again, ew," Hanna says crinkling her nose in mock disgust.

"Hanna, are you sure you're not gay?" Emily asks randomly with a goofy grin.

"What?" both blondes ask simultaneously.

"We've kissed before," Emily says proudly. Alison whips her head to look at Hanna who backs away with her hands up.

"It was truth or dare like 3 years ago," Hanna defends.

"Ali, baby, I want you so bad," Emily mumbles distracted as she mentally undresses the blonde in front of her. "Between my legs-"

"You are _so_ not allowed to talk til we get home," Alison scolds lightly with a teasing smile as she covers Emily's mouth one more time.

"Yeah, never giving her tequila again if you're around," Hanna says as she looks at how Emily's dark eyes are transfixed on Alison's body.

"Fuck that, I don't want her drunk on tequila around anybody _but_ me," Alison corrects as horrible thoughts of Emily being this forward with anyone else cross her mind. She's not oblivious to the fact that with the right makeup, clothes, etc, Emily could be a goddamn super model. And she loves that her girl isn't one of those girls who _knows_ they're damn hot. She never thought in her wildest dreams that she'd be dating someone as gorgeous as Emily, on the inside and outside.

It catches her off guard how _jealous_ she suddenly realizes she would be. She'd never been the jealous type before- but maybe she hadn't really cared about the rest of them.

"Alright, I'm sitting between you and Emily in the car so there will be no steamy sex happening right next to me," Hanna declares as she shoves Emily into the car.

"Okay, I can still tease you," Emily warns proudly with a playful look in her eyes and Hanna's eyes widen in shock.

"You will do no such thing!" Alison quickly adds as she pushes past Hanna and slides into the middle seat. She looks up at Hanna with an apologetic smile and the other blonde gets in.

In the rearview mirror she can see Spencer gritting her teeth, giving her a warning look as her hands gripped the steering wheel. She wonders just what exactly is going through that brunette's mind.

"Just a reminder, I can see everything," Hanna notes.

"Yay, an audience," Emily replies with a cheeky smile, the curves of her lips resembling a light smirk. "Wanna watch?"

All four girls turn to look at her. "EMILY!"

"Kidding!"

X

"Finally," Emily pants as she messily kisses down Alison's face to her neck and then chest-

"Woah, slow down tiger," Alison halts her and the brunette pouts.

"Now what?" Emily asks almost whining, her dark brown eyes almost black as her hands linger on Ali's waist and she stares directly at her cleavage.

"I want to take advantage of this bold, drunk you," Alison smirks.

"I'm not that drunk," Emily argues with a hiccup and Alison merely looks at her with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah okay," the blonde grins shaking her head and pushes Emily backwards onto the bed as she climbs on top over her, her knees on either side of Emily's hips.

"Still want me to be your stripper?" Ali asks in a husky low voice and Emily nods furiously.

"Yes, please," she pleads and Alison lowers her lips to hover right above Emily's.

"You sound so fucking hot when you beg," Ali whispers as she captures the brunette's bottom lip between her teeth and then sucks lightly. "I will only be _your_ stripper, got it? Cause that's not who I am anymore."

"Mine," Emily says with a childish smile as she lets her hands slip from Alison's waist up under her sleeping shirt slightly. "My smart, intelligent, funny, blonde, protective, sexy, cute, adorable, hot-"

Alison shuts her up with another kiss, though she smiles against Emily's lips. She had wanted to see how many adjectives Emily could ramble on about.

"I think I got the point—mmm," Ali moans as she feels Emily's hands caress her breasts, her thumbs rubbing back and forth over her nipples. Her hands grabbed possessively, her dark eyes fixated on watching Alison's facial reactions.

"Mine," Emily says firmly as she sits up and kisses her way down Alison's jaw to the side of her neck, over her pressure point.

She presses her lips and sucks hard at the skin there, sending Alison reeling into a state of ecstasy. Emily nips lightly at it and pulls back, admiring her little mark she left Alison.

"You did not just give me a hickey," Alison protests realizing what she was doing as she tries to catch her breath.

"I so did," Emily grins proudly. "Mine."

X

Alison stumbles out of the bedroom, trying her best to walk despite her legs feeling like total jelly. Emily had finally passed out naked and curled up in bed.

"What was that, only two rounds?"

The blonde's head whips toward the living room area where a dim lamp is turned on and she sees Spencer sitting with a book. Her eyes narrow.

"Who's creepy now?"

"Still you," Spencer shoots back. "And I never said creepy."

"It was _three_ rounds," Alison says smugly ignoring Spencer as she turns the tap on in the kitchen to get water. She feels dizzy, the alcohol and sweat sufficiently dehydrating her. "Do you always stay up til 4:30 am reading?"

"Sometimes, yes. It's for school if you must know," Spencer tells her. "But I just started on this book. Want to know what I was reading while you were doing…that?"

She gestures to the bedroom. Alison shrugs.

"This," Spencer says pulling out a binder. Alison can read clearly, it says Wilson vs. DiLaurentis.

"You carry my fucking court case files with you everywhere you go?!" Alison asks appalled.

"No, I wanted to show Emily," Spencer says keeping her voice even and her eye contact with Alison firm.

"It doesn't matter, showing Emily that won't change anything. I told her the truth, and exactly what happened," Alison says angrily.

"Don't you _dare_ hurt my friend," Spencer hisses as she puts her book down and walks over to Alison at the island counter. The blonde backs away into the sink counter, feeling very trapped. "I don't know exactly what happened between Paige and Emily, she never flat out told us. But we could assume some things, all the bruises and whatnot."

"I would _never_ hurt Emily," Alison states once more. "I don't care if you believe that stupid binder and case files and bullshit. But you have to believe that I would never hurt her."

There's a pause in their conversation, Spencer examining her carefully. She's good at reading people and the honesty in Alison's eyes seems sincere. The brunette thinks that maybe, just _maybe_ the blonde is telling the truth.

"What happened with Wilden? The truth."

"Not that I owe you any explanation, but I was lonely, I trusted the wrong person. He ended up being extremely possessive and aggressive, and controlling. You don't know the years of abuse I endured. You don't know what it's like for someone to look at you and make you feel like you're _nothing_. I was too pathetic to convince myself to leave, and when I did, I tried to get justice and you know how that went. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

Spencer looks carefully at her before she sighs.

"Well either you're a pathological liar or you're definitely telling the truth," she relents.

"And for the record, Emily had to stop me from seriously hurting Paige for coming around and harassing her. So I guess maybe being psychotic does run in my family. But after everything I went through with Darren, I refused to watch Emily take the same kind of abuse."

Spencer nods.

"Emily is too sweet for that."

"She's incredibly sweet," Alison muses as she thinks about the past few weeks.

"And you seem to really make her happy," Spencer thinks out loud.

"Is this you giving me your blessing?" Alison jokes dryly.

"As long as you swear you're telling the truth," Spencer says with sharp eyes and a dangerously warning tone that lets Alison know she doesn't fully trust her yet.

"I swear, and I'm really glad Emily has friends that care about her so much," Alison genuinely tells her.

"You know, she was that girl that always remembered people's birthdays, always brought homework and soup to me when I was sick. She really puts other people ahead of herself."

"And I put her ahead of myself," Alison reassures. "She deserves that at least."

"Good."

"Anyway as fun as this is, I'm going to fall asleep any second," Alison says as she stifles a yawn.

"I'm sorry about what my mom did," Spencer finally apologizes. "I mean it's her job, but yeah."

"It's okay. I know."

x

"Oh my god, I think a train hit me," Emily groans the next morning as she rolls over to bury her head in her pillow.

"Someone was a naughty girl last night," Alison teases as she mocks the brunette.

"I remember fragments…oh god," Emily says as she turns her head to look at Alison. "Did I…did I say something about an audience?"

"I had no idea you were so kinky," Alison smirks at her and Emily groans, mortified, as she turns her head back into the pillow.

"Never drinking tequila again," Emily mumbles. "I would never want an audience."

"Good," Alison smiles as she presses her lips to Emily's bare skin on her back. The brunette can feel her long eyelashes fluttering against her skin. "I don't want anyone else to see you either. I don't like sharing."

"Oh god, I was so aggressive I'm sorry," Emily groans as she remembers more of their night back in her bedroom and her cheeks turn red, not that Alison can see with her face still buried in the pillow.

Her memory is hazy, but she distinctly remembers having the blonde's arms pinned down to the bed while she marked Ali's breasts with her mouth. She also distinctly remembers slamming Ali against the wall at some point.

"I loved it, minus the drunk antics," Alison whispers in a husky voice near Emily's ear. "How aggressive can you get baby?"

"Probably not very when I'm sober," she murmurs dryly as Alison's hands massage her neck. "This would be so much hotter if I didn't have a pounding headache."

"I believe you have it in you," Alison teases as she presses another kiss to her back.

The door opens and Alison turns to see Hanna standing there with her eyes closed.

"Are you both dressed?" she asks and Alison rolls her eyes.

"Sure please come in without knocking," Alison says sarcastically.

Hanna opens her eyes and sees Emily's bare back- luckily the blanket covers her lower half.

"You could've said no!"

"What do you want Hanna?" Emily asks in a muffled voice.

"Up, get up Em we're getting brunch," Hanna states and the other two appeared in the doorway, dressed already.

"Drink too much Em?" Spencer asks with an amused look on her face as she examines the sight before them- Alison with her bed/sex hair wearing an oversized t-shirt of Emily's, and their _very_ hungover naked friend.

"That's an understatement," Emily replies painfully.

"We'll make you a hangover cure," Hanna quips and the three leave the two to get ready.

X

As they all get into Spencer's car, Alison mentally notes that she forgot the girl was loaded- she's driving a high end BMW for Christ's sake.

"Shit, I forgot my wallet," Emily says as she runs out of the car quickly. She runs back into her apartment building and slows her pace a bit, still not feeling a hundred percent.

As she climbs the stairs slowly in the deserted stairwell to the third floor (she's never been a fan of waiting for elevators) the dim lights frighten her for some reason and a loud hollow thud echoes causing her heart to skip a beat. Emily pauses at the sound of footsteps behind her.

A sudden panic takes over her and she sprints the rest of the way up and to her apartment. She's never seen _anyone_ take the stairs besides her, in her two years at this place. Thoughts of Wilden haunt her mind and she runs as fast as she can.

Emily tells herself it's just a freak coincidence, and she turns the corner only to blindly collide with another body. She shrieks in panic as she falls.

"Emily! It's just me!" Alison quickly says as she stands up and helps the brunette up off the ground. The brunette hears a thud in the distance and she clambers to her feet and darts back around the corner only to see a deserted hallway.

"Emily-" Alison puts her hand on her girlfriend's shoulder and the brunette jumps nervously. Alison frowns. "Why are you so jumpy? You forgot your keys in the car."

"Thanks," Emily mumbles as she takes them from the blonde and walks to her apartment. Alison trails behind confused.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, just still hungover," Emily lies.

"You look frightened, not in pain," Alison narrows her eyes, trying to figure out what Emily's keeping from her.

The brunette shrugs. She steps into her apartment and grabs her wallet hastily. When she comes back she sees the blonde frowning with her arms crossed. Hesitantly she shuts the door.

"What?"

"Why are you lying to me?" Ali asks but her voice isn't hurt, more confused than anything.

"I'm not-"

"Don't lie to my face about lying, I can see your nervous fidgeting and jumpiness and I can just feel something off with you all of a sudden. What the hell could possibly have happened between the car and your apartment?" Alison asks, stern at first but just concerned at the end.

"I just freaked out and thought somebody was following me," Emily admits. "In the stairwell. But I think I'm just being paranoid."

"Why would somebody be following you?" Alison asks with a frown.

Emily shrugs, trying to avoid the truth- she still hasn't told Alison about her run in with Wilden.

"Are you afraid of Paige?" Alison asks softly noticing the distress on Emily's face and misreading it as fear from her past.

"Not really," Emily says weakly, and that's an honest answer because she has Alison now.

"It's okay, I know how ex's like that can make you all nervous and jumpy," Alison says as she offers a sympathetic smile. "Come on the girls are waiting."

But as Alison and Emily exit the building, the brunette can't help but feel like she's being watched, and she just can't shake that unsettling feeling.

X

Emily spends the evening with her friends since Alison has to work. But the brunette _insists_ on driving her there and dropping her off instead of her taking the bus like she wanted to so Emily didn't have to leave her friends.

And Alison isn't an idiot- she can tell that something is still bothering Emily and it's most likely the same thing that bothered her earlier. But she literally has no idea what it could be, especially since it happened between leaving the car and arriving at her apartment.

And when she comes to pick her up, she argues with Alison about waiting outside because she'll "catch a cold". Alison just stares at her suspiciously the entire time.

"Seriously? It's not even freezing temperatures yet," Alison huffs and runs a hand through her hair frustrated.

"You just shouldn't wait outside okay? Can't afford to get sick," Emily mumbles the last part as she drives.

"Emily you suck at hiding your emotions, what the fuck is going on?" Alison asks sternly as she turns her body towards the brunette.

"What, suddenly you know everything about me?" Emily argues back as she misplaces her fear and anger onto Alison.

"Clearly not since you're still hiding something," Alison seethes, her impatience quickly building. She didn't like this feeling of being kept in the dark- it was one that was all too familiar to her.

"I told you to wait inside and you didn't listen to me! That's what I'm angry about," Emily argues.

"You don't get to dictate my life just cause you saved me once," Alison fires back, her temper now flaring at the thought of being controlled again.

"Well maybe you should just listen so I don't have to save you again!" Emily yells, finally just letting go.

"From a fucking cold? What the hell is going on Emily?" Alison shouts one last time, irritated. "And don't you dare say nothing or I'm not sleeping at home tonight."

"I don't know!" Emily yells back, silencing Alison with stormy eyes. "I really don't fucking know what's going on okay? I'm just paranoid and it's starting to get to me."

"Paranoid of what?" Alison asks, fighting to keep her voice controlled at a reasonable level and without bitchy tones.

"Losing you," Emily says after a pause and her voice sounds strangled in her throat.

Alison looks at her in serious confusion.

"What brought this about?" she asks, thoroughly concerned that maybe she said or did something to upset Emily. She watches as the brunette fights to speak what's on her mind.

Emily parks silently and turns the engine off, the silence suddenly piercing.

"I don't know how to…I didn't know how to tell you this," Emily struggles to speak as she fidgets with her hands in her lap.

Alison feels her stomach suddenly turn into knots. Her mind jumps to the worst conclusion possible.

"Remember that night you woke up and I wasn't there?"

"When you were at Cece's," Alison remembers with sudden nausea. Again, she'd never been the jealous type- but the thought of Cece's hands on Emily makes her want to seriously _hurt_ the older blonde.

"Yeah," Emily struggles to keep going. "I couldn't tell you, cause you were freaking out then-"

"Did you cheat on me with Cece?" Alison blurts out and Emily whips her head to look at Ali with horror written on her face.

"What?! No! That's not even close to it!" Emily protests and the blonde sighs in relief.

"Then it can't be that bad Emily."

"I think I'm just paranoid."

"About? Come on babe your friends are up there waiting, just tell me."

"I met Darren," Emily finally gives in as she looks at Alison and watches the blonde's eyes widen. "He pulled me over for speeding, but I swear I wasn't speeding. And I didn't know it was him but he asked for my license and registration, so I thought it was routine. But when I saw his badge after, I knew it was him."

"And you're afraid that it was on purpose," Alison finishes for her in a voice barely above a whisper. Emily nods and notices that she's paled, and suddenly become very timid. "That's why you were jumpy- you thought he was following you."

"I just keep feeling like somebody is watching me," Emily admits. "It seemed to strange to be a coincidence. But it might be."

"It probably is just coincidence," Alison says weakly, convincing herself too. "But that's still fucking terrifying. I never want to see him again."

When the brunette doesn't answer, Alison grabs her hand and squeezes it. "Come on, let's go upstairs. Your friends will cheer you up."

The two can't get inside the building fast enough, and up to Emily's apartment. Right before Emily opens the door, Alison tugs on her wrist.

"Wait," she requests gently as she pulls Emily close and leans up kiss her lightly. "I'm sorry I yelled."

"I don't like fighting with you," Emily agrees as she kisses her forehead.

"Let's not make a habit of it," Alison whispers softly as she hugs Emily tightly. The blonde's head is still reeling, trying to figure out if Emily should really be worried. She isn't sure of anything right now, except that she loves Emily. And Emily loves her too.

**Yay happy. This is the last chapter of the calm before the storm. Let me know your thoughts as always :) xx**


	11. Chapter 11

**The beginning of the end. Happy Early Halloween.**

The smell of baking cookies floats through the apartment and Alison busily washes the dishes as she watches the oven timer. She hums happily to the radio, and she has Gossip Girl on silently with captions.

"When I am with you there's no place I'd rather be," Ali sings to herself as she dries her hands and then goes to put all the ingredients away.

She is glad the girls had come to see Emily- and she appreciates Spencer's 'blessing'. But they had interrupted Emily's studying time, and the brunette had one of her first tests of the semester today. She had been edgy, freaking out about the test, and studying like crazy, not even really distracted by Alison's occasional soft massages to her neck.

"You'll strain your neck if you study in one position like that for so long," Alison had lectured her gently and Emily had simply shifted positions as she concentrated. When Ali had checked on Emily a half hour later, she saw the brunette in the same position as when she had left and she sighed, reminding her again.

So while Emily was in class, Alison decided to bake chocolate chip cookies- the kind with milk chocolate chips, not semi-sweet because Emily had mentioned that was her preference. Going against Emily's wishes, she had taken the bus to the grocery store to grab some- and here she was alive and safe. She knows Emily is protective, and not in a psychotic sense- but she figures that her girlfriend might just be paranoid.

As she turns the oven light on, she smiles as she sees her carefully rounded cookies turning into perfect little circles. She can't wait to see Emily's face when she has cookies and milk waiting at home for her. Over the past few weeks she had learned quite a bit about Emily that she had committed to memory. This happened to be her favorite childhood comfort food.

Ali takes her apron off and she sees an incoming text from Emily: "Hey I just finished my test, I'll be home in ten. Netflix?"

Alison smiles and doesn't respond, able to wait the ten minutes until she sees Emily. The oven timer goes off and she checks on her delicious-smelling creations.

(She's quite good, if she may say so herself)

So the blonde lets the golden cookies cool softly and she hurries to clean the kitchen. It feels nice knowing her effort will be appreciated. Emily would never even think about throwing the cookies at the wall and yelling at her, Alison knows that with confidence.

It's overwhelming a bit how much she loves this girl she met barely a month ago- but she now firmly believes in soulmates. And if her and Emily aren't soulmates then to hell with everything else, Alison wouldn't know what to believe.

She's about to go scrape the cookies off the pan when the faintest noise catches her attention. Focusing, she strains her ear and hears it again and her eyes whip to the front door- the doorknob turns ever so slightly, as if someone is trying to open the door. Her eyes dart up to see that the top two locks are indeed locked, and she's safe.

The doorknob doesn't turn again, and Alison shakes her head, wondering if Emily's paranoia is beginning to get to her too. As much as she hates Wilden, she doesn't believe he'd actually kidnap her or nonsense like that- because that's just far fetched, she thinks.

She can imagine him stalking her to try and talk to her, but not kidnap or physically harm in broad daylight.

Shaking her head and pulling herself out of her state of nervousness, she piles the cookies on a plate and grabs some milk to pour from the fridge. To pass the time she dries and puts away the dishes until she hears a familiar rattling that she's used to and watches as the door opens but is stopped by the metal chain at the top.

"Babe can you come unlock this?" Emily calls from the doorway, smiling softly when she sees Alison's face as she opens the door fully.

Quickly, she steps in and shuts the door locking it hastily before she yanks Ali's arm and pulls her into a searing kiss, the blonde suddenly melting into her arms as she whimpers.

"Well hello to you too," Alison breathes, her eyes fluttering and chest heaving as she recovers.

"I can smell the cookies from down the hall," Emily smirks. "Just saying thank you."

"You didn't even try them yet though!"

"I bet they're delicious," Emily says kissing her again before mumbling against her lips, "but they probably don't taste as sweet as you do."

Alison's eyes shot open in surprise- the brunette was hardly that forward and flirty.

"But you still gotta taste them," Alison pouts as she starts to pepper little kisses all over Emily's face. "Pleaaaase."

"Alright, but that's as aggressive as I'm getting today," Emily jokes and Alison rolls her eyes.

"Once again, I think you have it in you," Alison waves her comment away and takes her hand and leads her to the kitchen island. "Ta da."

"Milk and cookies!" Emily squeaks with her big brown eyes shining with affection. "You made me milk and cookies!"

"With milk chocolate chips," Alison beams proudly.

"Thank you," Emily says softly with a wide smile.

"Try one already! Geez," Alison teases with a poke but she's grinning like a fool too.

When Emily bites into the cookie, she closes her eyes and savors the rich, sweet flavors.

"Mmm so good," she mumbles with her mouth full and grabs the glass of milk to wash the cookie down.

Alison's blue eyes twinkle with laughter and Emily looks at her questioningly.

"You got a little something right here," Alison brings her hand up to Emily's cheek and wipes a smudge of chocolate away from the corner of her mouth with her thumb.

"There, fixed it," Alison smiles. She gasps as Emily's hands grab her waist and pull her close suddenly.

"I love you, Ali," Emily declares, her voice low and husky and Alison almost cries at the clear sincerity. "So much."

"I love you too. You've turned me into a sap," Ali teases as she buries her face into Emily's shoulder, trying not to cry. She loves this spot particularly because Emily always sprays her favorite perfume on her neck and Alison can always smell the lingering scent.

"So…Netflix?"

x

A vibrating noise wakes Alison up out of her light sleep on the couch where she has fallen asleep with Emily's head in her lap. The movie is still playing and she rubs her eyes only to see her phone light up with a number she doesn't know calling.

Hesitatingly she answers.

"Hello?"

"Alison, it's me," the blonde breathes a huge sigh of relief, "Emily's friend Spencer."

"How did you get my number?"

"Not important."

"It's 2 am," Alison says tiredly.

"When I got home, I wanted to know more about the case," Spencer explains. "So I did some research."

"And?"

"And get this. Over the past few days I found out in high school Wilden was sent to a psychiatrist for disturbing behavior. And it wasn't his parents' idea, it was his principle's."

"Go on."

"It's on his record that a psychiatric evaluation was later performed on him before he entered the police academy, by that same psychiatrist and he was cleared of having any disorder. But I went to visit the said psychiatrist, and she claims she did no such thing- someone altered those reports for whatever reason."

"They what?!" Alison shoots straight up.

"Yeah, completely altered, because she thinks he had anti-social personality disorder. That was her suspicion from only two sessions. He just left and never came back. She explained she believed he fell under the malevolent subtype, which includes characteristics such as brutality, extreme revenge, and anticipation of betrayal and punishment. "

"His dad used to be the Chief of Police," Alison remembers suddenly. "Maybe he altered it somehow."

"I just thought you should know. Not that it matters to you, but I completely believe you now," Spencer says as her voice quiets at the end.

Alison is about to respond when she feels a squirm and looks down to see Emily looking up at her with tentative eyes. She puts her finger to her lips, signaling for the brunette to be quiet before she reaches down and lets her hand play with her beautiful dark brown hair.

"What happens now?"

"I'm not sure. I would just be extra careful," Spencer warns cautiously.

"I have Emily making sure of that for me," Alison replies sweetly as she lightly scratches Emily's head comfortingly.

"I wouldn't even know who to go bring this evidence to," Spencer admits. "I plan on working on it some more."

"Thank you, I really appreciate it," Alison tells her genuinely and Spencer acknowledges her before hanging up.

"Who was that?" Emily asks groggily. "Cece?"

"Spencer," Alison asks her and Emily sits up, rubbing her eyes to look at her.

"Spencer? Why?"

"Long story short, she believes me after a conversation we had. And so she was doing some research on Wilden, and she just thought she should let me know," Alison tells her softly not wanting to upset Emily.

"What'd she find out?" sleepy Emily asks as one hand covers her mouth to stop a yawn, and the other groping for Alison's leg and then rubbing it softly.

Alison recounts what Spencer said, and Emily becomes a little more awake, terrible thoughts forming in her head.

"Alison-"

"Shhh can we not talk about this now?" Alison begs quietly climbing on top of Emily and pushing her backwards so she can sleep half on top of the brunette. "I just want to go to sleep with my beautiful girlfriend and not worry about this tonight."

Emily gives in with a heavy sigh, she can't resist those big blue puppy eyes staring at her.

But Alison wass the only one who manages to fall asleep that night.

_A little over a week later_

Emily is hunched over her desk in class, scribbling notes furiously. She can barely keep up with the teacher, and her eyebrows furrow together in concentration as she tries to really listen.

"Hey," she hears a hushed whispered voice next to her. She breaks from her concentration for a second to look at the guy.

"Your phone keeps going off," he lets her know.

She nods appreciatively and looks up at the professor before checking her phone. There are two missed calls from Alison. Emily frowns slightly- the blonde knows she's in class. There's no text or voicemail, and Emily feels a familiar paranoia begin to creep in.

Quickly she shoves her chair back and exits the room quietly. Once she's in the hallway she finds a quiet corner to call Alison.

"Hello?" she barely hears the blonde's voice when she answers the phone. She sounds very sleepy.

"Hey, babe I'm in class is something wrong?"

There's a distinct pause before Alison's voice comes through. "I'm just really tired."

"How was lunch shift? Are you back from work?"

Another long pause. Alison sounds a little confused as she continues to speak. "Yeah, I took the bus."

"Are you okay?" Emily asks worried. Pause.

"I just…I don't feel good," Alison says slowly, her words heavy. "I'm really tired Emmy…"

"Are you sick? Do you want me to come home?"

"I don't…I don't know…yeah," Alison says distantly.

"Okay, just hold on I'm coming home," Emily says beginning to get anxious. Alison had been fine that morning. They had even talked about going out to dinner to celebrate Emily's A on her test.

When the brunette gets home she runs up the stairs, to her apartment, and flings her door open.

"Alison?!" she calls out panicked and she doesn't hear a single sound in the apartment. "Ali!"

Still no answer. She doesn't see the blonde and she dashes into the bedroom only to be greeted with nothing but space. Nothing seems out of place.

"Alison!" she calls out and still there's no answer. Emily can feel her heartbeat begin to pound wildly as thoughts of Alison being taken away frighten her to no end.

"God no," she starts to freak out and tears begin to well in her eyes. "Ali!"

She's left alone in silence. Despite her efforts to stay calm, all she can think about is losing Alison- and that just _can't_ happen.

Emily pulls her cell phone out and she calls Alison again, frantic.

"Pick up Ali," she murmurs as the ringing tone begins but then she hears a loud buzzing sound. When she runs out of her room she traces the noise to the kitchen and sees Alison's phone buzzing on the counter by the sink.

Her stomach is in knots, and Emily thinks she's going to be sick. Where the hell could Alison have gone in twenty minutes, while sick, without her phone? She walks over to the counter and almost trips- and then she looks down and screams.

Alison is on the ground face down with her left side of her face lying on the cool tile, her eyes shut and mouth ever so slightly open. Her body is eerily still and Emily drops to her knees, absolutely _terrified._

The brunette's body begins to shake as she flips Alison over on her back and puts her ear to her chest- and there is a pulse, thank God. It's faint, but it's there. And Alison seems to have no real injuries.

"Alison," Emily shakes her gently trying to wake her up but her head just lulls back and forth in Emily's lap.

"Come on, babe," Emily mumbles as she tries to lift Alison up but falters slightly since the blonde is complete dead weight. Slowly, she maneuvers so she can stand up with her knees bent and slides her two arms under Alison's body before she stands and picks her up. Alison's body is cold, and it gives Emily the creeps to see her so lifeless. She puts her down on the couch gently and grabs her phone.  
>"Cece? Cece I need help!"<p>

x

Alison wakes up to pure confusion- she's in a hospital room by herself and she doesn't remember coming here. She feels nauseous, and she can barely keep her eyes open without feeling being tempted to throw up.

But the worse part is that she's all alone and she doesn't understand what's happening.

"Hello?" she calls out weakly and she leans forward, quickly leaning back as a wave of nausea hits her.

"Oh god," she mumbles as she feels vomit coming up and she does her best to keep it down else she accidentally release it all over herself.

"Shit," she hears and sees Cece appear in the doorway. "Emily she's awake, and she's gonna hurl."

Alison swallows thickly and relief flows through her as she sees the tan beauty hurry in and she feels infinitely safer with her girlfriend in the room.

Emily picks up the trash can by the door and runs to Alison's side.

"Here," she says softly and Alison lets herself finally throw up, her body heaving and shaking. She feels disgusting, and her memory is hazy- she wants to know why she's in the hospital.

"It's okay," Emily soothes as she rubs Alison's back comfortingly. When the blonde finally stops, she puts the trashcan down by the door. "Finished?"

"I don't think there's anything left to throw up," Alison whimpers as she lies back, a thin layer of sweat covering her. "What happened? I remember feeling sick on the way home from work-"

"Girlie you were drugged, again," Cece says in a serious tone cutting her off as she watches Emily go and sit by the blonde's bed, holding her hand.

"Drugged? I was at work!"

"Did you eat there? Drink?"

"I mean I have a glass of water like everyone else at the waiter station," Alison explains.

"Someone purposely drugged you, Alison," Emily says in a low voice and Alison's never seen the brunette look so heated- there's an animalistic anger in Emily's eyes, but it doesn't frighten Alison in the least bit. It makes her feel safer.

"You think it was-"

"Who else would?" Emily seethes.

"That doesn't make any sense, because I'm here with you," Alison says confused. "What would be the point of drugging me?"

"I don't know. All I know is that I was in class, and you called me, totally out of it. And you said you felt sick, and told me to come home," Emily tells her. "And then when I came back I found you on the kitchen floor."

"I don't remember any of that," Alison's resolve crumbles and she feels fear running through her veins- if there's one thing she can't stand it's not having control. And lately it's been slipping through her fingers. She looks at Emily and notices the dark circles under her eyes, and her body looks tense as if she's constantly stressed. Alison gasps.

"Oh Em, you must have been so scared," Alison realizes as she speaks quietly, watching as Emily blushes and avoids eye contact. She leans over, despite her nausea, and kisses the top of Emily's head. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you."

"I came back and I thought you were…" Emily's voice trails off and Alison squeezes her hand while trying to smile her usual Alison DiLaurentis grin.

"But I'm not, I'm right here," Alison reminds her.

"I was scared too!" Cece interrupts their moment playfully from the doorway where she's leaning.

"Bitch I didn't ask you," Alison growls teasingly as she lies back.

"Are we safe?" Emily asks confronting the giant elephant in the room.

"Nope, so be careful," Cece warns. "I'll sleep on your couch for a few days. Wilden can't get through me."

"No thanks, we're kind of loud at night," Alison's smirk grows when she sees Emily turn an even deeper shade of red.

"Bitch I was serious," Cece says in a very grave tone before she lightens up. "Besides, it's nothing I haven't heard before."

Both girls look at her, eyes narrowed.

"Sorry Emily, but Alison you were super loud with that one guy…what was his name…I came by to drop something off once and all I heard was-"

"Shut up Cece," Ali growls as her thumb reflexively rubs Emily's soft skin to comfort her. The last thing she wanted was for Emily start imagining her with someone else right now. And she knows that's what she's thinking, because she can see the crestfallen look on Emily's face.

"Fine I won't sleep on your couch, but if both of us aren't working and Emily is not home I'm going to be at your place until we figure something else out," Cece says firmly, her voice leaves no room for argument and the two younger girls just nod.

"Can't the police find out who did it?"

"We contacted the police, and Ezra is helping out, but there is nothing that even suggests who would have done that," Emily sighs looks defeated.

"Don't worry, we'll figure it out," Alison consoles her lovingly, but she is unsure of what to do.

"I'm going to go get a doctor so we can get the hell out of here," Cece declares to nobody in particular as she leaves.

The instant she is out the door, Alison turns to Emily.

"Hey, you, look at me," she says firmly as she leans forward and twists her body to look at her girlfriend.

Emily naturally grabs a glass of water off the table and hands it to her. Alison drinks up and marvels at how the brunette is faithful, right by her side through everything. "The only reason I'm not crawling out of this bed and properly thanking you for everything is because I don't have a toothbrush and toothpaste."

Emily gives her a pathetic attempt at a smile and the blonde sighs.  
>"Don't listen to what Cece said, and don't focus on what could have happened," Alison says earnestly. "I'm right here with you. I was just as scared until I saw you come in, and then I knew I was safe. You are my safety, my killer, and nobody can make me scream louder than you do."<p>

Emily blushes and tries to pull herself out of her head, out of the tornado of dark, negative thoughts.

"Alright?"

Emily nods, traces of real joy finally gracing her face.

"I kinda like how that sounds, killer," Alison muses as she looks Emily up and down.

"Makes me sound crazy," Emily argues with an embarrassed smile.

"Cause you are," Alison giggles with mischief in her eyes. "Crazy for me. And I can't wait for you to show me when we get home."

_Two hours later_

"Mmmm, fuck, ah-oh god," Alison moans, her hands tangled in Emily's hair as the brunette licks up and down her dripping slit. The blonde has her head raised and her back slightly off the mattress, admiring the naked brunette between her legs. But when Emily's lips close around her clit and suck lightly, and then her tongue flicks across it, Alison releases a high pitched moan and falls back to the mattress, her eyes slammed shut and her hands grabbing fistfuls of Emily's hair as she pulls her closer.

"Emily, fuck," she can barely speak up as a single digit slip into her pussy before coming right back out. And then suddenly Emily's face lifts from between her legs.

"Why'd you stop?!" Ali almost cries but when she sees Emily hovering over her with dark eyes focused on her, she shuts the fuck up.

"You want aggressive right?" Emily taunts in a very seductive voice. Alison didn't think she could get any wetter, but she feels more warmth pool as Emily starts to dirty talk her.

"Yes, please," Alison pleads pathetically.

"I hope you can handle it," Emily says with a smirk and she crashes her lips against Alison's, and the kiss is hard with teeth scraping and Emily's tongue dominating Alison's, sweeping the inside of her mouth possessively. The blonde stifles a moan as she bucks her hip up to grind against Emily's thigh. But the brunette bites Alison's lip harshly before sucking on it and releasing it. "Not until I say so."

A shudder rips through Alison's body and she knows the brunette can feel it. She whimpers pathetically as Emily's hand slides up her torso and begins to roughly grab her breasts, and Emily was _not_ kidding about being aggressive- the way she pinches her nipples and gropes Alison has the blonde gasping in both pain and pleasure.

And then the brunette drops her body down lower and lets her lips attack Alison's breast, marking her and biting until the blonde is begging.

"Please, please Em—fuck—I need you to touch—fuck oh god," Alison whimpers as she feels Emily's hand drop between her legs. The tan beauty rubs up and down Alison's dripping sex and rubs her clit just rough enough to have the blonde moaning incoherent words.

"Emi—fuck!"

Alison is cut off midsentence by Emily shoving two fingers in her, and Alison winces at the pleasure mixed with pain. Though her eyes are closed, she feels Emily slow down, clearly noticing Alison's wincing.

"The harder you go, the louder I scream your name," Alison pants and it's not long before Emily quickens her pace and adds a third digit and curls her fingers.

"Fuck! Emily…oh fu…shit…Emily!"

Alison screams as her body tenses and that wonderful sensation shoots through her as her toes curl and her fists clench before her body relaxes and her body is left twitching.

"Wow you weren't kidding about the harder the louder," Emily observes.

"Mmm I can't help it," Alison whispers in a husky voice as she sits up, her nipples still hard from the cold temperature and Emily feels an intense throbbing between her legs. "And you, killer, were very impressive."

"Was I? I took two shots," Emily says with a sheepish grin.

"Huh I thought I tasted alcohol," Alison smiles. "I know you have it in you."

She flips Emily on her back and straddles her. Emily groans and Alison purrs into her ear. "And just wait until you get me tied up."

Emily gulps, she knows from the way Alison is looking at her that she's not going to be able to stand after this.

_The next night_

"Where the fuck is she?!" Emily shouts at Cece grabbing the older blonde by her shirt.

"Emily calm down-"

"What the fuck happened?" Emily asks in a trembling voice as she reluctantly lets go of Cece with a little shove.

And for once, Cece Drake is scared speechless.

x

**I love when shit hits the fan. That's probably my favorite part about writing. And honestly writing this has been the only good part of my day. Feel free to review or pm to let me know what you think- makes me smile. I'm motivated to write because I love knowing that people are enjoying the story I'm telling. It means I'm doing something right. :3 xx**


	12. Chapter 12

**Part 1. Happy Halloween, bitches. - A**

"Ugh, Emily doesn't come home for another two hours, can we please do something other than watch you do your hair for Pocahontas?"

"Shut the fuck up Cece," Alison growls as she whips around glaring at the latest nickname Cece had thought of for her girlfriend.

"Seriously. You'd probably benefit more from new clothes that Emily can take off you."

"What is it with you people and lingerie?" Alison asks annoyed. "It's sexy for like two seconds and then it's ripped off you."

Cece wiggles her eyebrows playfully. "Does innocent Emily have a thing for lingerie?"

"I don't know, maybe…probably, but it was her friend Hanna that dragged us into Victoria's Secret," Alison recounts. She also remembers the way Emily had ravished her in that dressing room, her lips grazing up her thigh and her soft tongue darting out-

"Ew you're totally fantasizing," Cece teases playfully shoving Alison and totally calling her out.

"You would too if you were sleeping with _my_ girlfriend," Alison smirks proudly.

"I never knew you were so into girls," Cece comments lightly and the blonde shakes her head with a smile, lost in thought.

"I'm not, I'm just completely into her."

"Romantic, now get your shit together we're going to the mall."'

X

When they get to the mall, Alison glues her eyes to her cell phone, her fingers constantly flying as they type to Emily. The older blonde has to pull her arm multiple times to prevent her from running into people and inanimate objects.

"You better not be sexting," Cece smirks, looking at a particularly heavily padded bra.

"I can hold normal conversations you know. It's not like all we do is fuck. I'm not this giant sex animal!"

"Said the kinkiest girl I know," Cece purred teasingly and Alison blushed, embarrassed at how the littlest things turn her on.

"She's talking about Valentine's day, actually," Alison sighs softly, her mind wandering to thoughts of a few days where they could just relax like on Christmas day. Emily was suggesting a New York getaway weekend at a fancy hotel that Alison couldn't even pronounce.

"Oooof course she is," Cece drawls sarcastically, continuing with her browsing.

As much as Alison craves sex, craves Emily- she loves those little moments of affection that are truly reserved for just her.

She's seen Emily with her friends. The girl is loving- she cuddles with them and holds their hands and gives them long tight hugs. But when Emily grabs her hand and puts it on her chest so Ali can feel her heartbeat, when Emily kisses her and looks at her like she's the only fucking good thing in this world- Alison feels dizzy, like she's in a dream. The blonde hasn't had a place to call home for so long- and she's finally found a home in the gorgeous brunette.

"I have never seen you so mushy," Cece muses. "It's almost adorable."

"You're just jealous," Ali retorts but she smiles at her older friend.

"Well yeah, great sex and great love, what more could a girl want? Anyway I'm going to go try these on, come with me."

"Do I have to?" Alison pouts, whining.

"Yes, I curled your hair, so you have to tell me that I look good."

"You look good," Alison says mischievously grinning and Cece rolls her eyes.

"Come on."

Alison looks down at her phone and sees a snapchat from Emily.

Smiling, she snaps a quick selfie back and reminds her she loves her.

A text pops up from the brunette, telling Alison she'll be home in about half an hour. As Alison follows Cece to the dressing rooms, she replies to Emily and asks her to buy dinner home.

"Come in with me," Cece demands and Alison rolls her eyes, giving in. She can hardly pay attention to Cece constantly droning on about bullshit she doesn't care about. Rather, Alison stares at her phone, waiting for a response from the brunette.

"This doesn't fit right, I think it's too small," the older blonde complains about a bra she's trying on. Alison looks up and smirks.

"Your tits are practically falling out of that," Alison snickers and Cece glares at her.

"Can you go grab me another one?"

"Fine, what size?"

"34 C," Cece tells her and Alison raises her eyebrows at her. "What? I took enhancement pills!"

"Weirdo," Ali scoffs and walks out, leaving her cell phone on the bench in the dressing room to quickly run and grab the alternative bra.

She muses that Victoria's Secret could rival Hollister in this section she's looking in because the dim lights make it harder to read the tiny printed size on the tags.

As she's sorting through the drawer trying to find the right one, she feels a hand land on her back, and a looming presence behind her.

"I should've guessed a slut like you would spend her free time here."

The blonde feels the blood in her veins turn to ice as her body freezes and she stiffens in terror. The voice that haunts her in all her dreams is crisp and clear, right by her ear. Out of the corner of her eye she sees the man that tormented her for years with a smile of the devil on his face.

"Don't touch me," Alison grits her teeth and shifts but his strong grip pushes her forward, causing the drawer to shut.

"You used to like it when I touched you," he murmurs as his hand slips from the middle to the small of her back, taunting her.

"Seriously get off me," Alison attempts to stand her ground as she pushes him off and turns to face him. But the sight of him sends her traumatized mind reeling as memories begin to build panic inside her.

"It's nice to see you too," he says with a dark chuckle.

"I never wanted to see your fucking face ever again," Alison says in disgust as she slowly backs away though she's practically cornered by him.

"Don't be so rude, I came to repay you with favors for everything you did for me," he tells her, smiling.

(And Alison has never thought the saying "wolf in sheep's clothing" applies as much as it does now)

"Not interested," Alison snaps attempting to walk away. But he grabs her wrist, and she stops automatically, her body responding in fright the way it used to.

"I just want to talk. That's all. I'm sure Emily won't mind," he says with an eerily threatening voice. "And if she does, I'll teach her how to share. I want to talk to her, she seems lovely."

"No!" Alison quickly pales, horrified by the thought of Darren even being in close proximity of Emily.

"Okay so you either come with me to talk or I'll visit your fragile girlfriend and have a chat with her," Darren gives her a Catch 22 choice as always. "She looks just as pathetic and weak as you did."

"You don't know the first thing about her," Alison says angrily but shakes with panic.

"Emily Fields, 21, business major at U Penn, sensitive, docile, loyal. I bet she sounds really hot in bed. It's always the shy ones," he smirks and Alison feels sick to her stomach. "Try me."

And just like that, Ali feels her resolve crumble.

"Don't."

Her voice hoarsely protests, and her throat suddenly dry as she fears for her girlfriend.

"Look, we don't have to talk, and I can go make Emily's life miserable," he says nonchalantly and his grip on Alison's wrist tightens. She feels a haze of defeat settle in her mind as it always does around him. If she has a kryptonite, it's this monster who has no problem destroying her mentality.

"Fine," she relents, giving in weakly. "Don't go near Emily."

"Sure," he says lightly with a sickening smile as his hand slips down into hers and starts to lead her out of the store.

She realizes in horror that she doesn't even have her cell phone on her, and she feebly tries to pull back, too scared to say anything. But his grip tightens so hard she gasps in pain as he yanks her forward and drags her along with him.

"Don't try anything or I'll make you wish you were dead," he whispers harshly in her ear as they walk through public and Alison feels her cheeks burning red with humiliation at the way he controls her so easily, like a damn rag doll.

He drags her all the way out through the parking lot until they reach his police car in the far back.

As he lets go of her to open the door, she doesn't think twice before she tries to turn and run. But she barely takes two steps before he grabs her and slams her tiny body face down on the hood of his car with her arms behind her back, wrists in his grip.

"I said don't try anything," he snarls menacingly as he leans down by her face and she can feel his hot angry breath hit her. She tries to imagine she's somewhere else, anywhere but here. He lifts her head and slams it back down on the hood as she cries out in pain, and she feels a throbbing headache reduce her to whimpers. "Do you understand?"

She nods pathetically and he stands behind her, pressing his pelvis dominatingly against her and he leans over her as she feels her will disappearing, her mind shutting down.

"You never learned did you? You fucking answer me when I talk," he growls and she whispers yes before he slips his hand into her blonde locks and grabs her by a fistful of her hair, her little cries of pain ignored.

"Good, get in," he says gruffly as he shoves her headfirst into the back of the car and slams the door shut.

X

Emily frowns. Alison never replied to her text about what to pick up for dinner. She figures the blonde is just distracted with Cece while shopping, and reasons they can just all go out to eat when the two get back.

She drives home and calls Alison, but the blonde doesn't answer. Emily frowns and texts again asking what time they'll be home.

When she gets back to her apartment, she changes into a plain tight tee and lazy sweats and starts to clean. A pile of clothes is lying on the ground in their closet and Emily remembers that Alison works tomorrow, but has gone through all her uniforms.

She doesn't think twice before she starts to do their laundry, and she catches herself smiling because she can't get over the fact that she has a gorgeous girl who really, truly loves her- and that is just mind blowing to her.

Emily sighs with a grin on her face, imagining a future where she's doing their laundry twenty years later and is reminded by the mundane task of how they just exist perfectly together- like Emily doing laundry and Alison cooking, Emily cleaning and Alison decorating.

As she starts the washer and goes to separates the rest of the colors, she hears an urgent pounding on the door and Cece's voice.

Frowning, she wonders if Ali forgot her keys. The brunette quickly opens the door.

Cece Drake never loses composure, always keeps her cool- but right now she's about to lose her shit, and Emily can see it in her eyes despite what any other normal person might see. And Emily notes that her girlfriend isn't in sight.

"Emily…" Cece starts but doesn't know what to say, her face pale and body tense.

"Where's Alison?" Emily asks slowly in a dangerous, warning voice though her heart is pounding- something bad has happened, she's sure of it.

"I don't know where she is," Cece says in a scared, frustrated tone.

"Weren't you with her?" Emily snaps, her soft side going into hiding as her killer personality came out. If something happened to Alison she swears to God-

"I was with her-" Emily starts to lose control of her emotions as they fly off the handle and her body begins to shake.

"So how do you lose her?!" the brunette shouts, anxiety building.

"I don't know where she went!" Cece protests earnestly.

"Where the fuck is she?!" Emily shouts at Cece grabbing the older blonde by her shirt.

"Emily calm down-"

"What the fuck happened?" Emily asks in a trembling voice as she reluctantly lets go of Cece with a little shove.

And for once, Cece Drake is scared speechless.

It's a few seconds before the blonde speaks at all.

"I was with her in the dressing room, and she left to go grab me another size, and she never came back," Cece tells her honestly. "I asked around if anyone saw her and all I could get was one girl told me she walked out holding hands with some guy. And she left her cell phone in the dressing room."

"Oh my god," Emily breathes, her worst nightmare coming true in the blink of an eye. She doesn't want to imagine how Darren got her to hold his hand and walk away with him quietly.

"We have to go find her," Cece says urgently and Emily nods absently as she walks back into her bedroom and suddenly slams the bedroom door against the wall with a loud crack as she releases her building frustration.

Every little fear that has been building for the last few weeks is pounding in her head, she wishes that she had been there and could've stopped him. She keeps remembering the night Alison told her everything, the night she woke up without Emily there- she remembers the sheer terror on her face that she has never seen on another human before. And she can't shake the feeling that this might end in something exponentially more traumatizing.

"Call Spencer," Cece tells her as she cautiously approaches the bedroom area and the brunette looks at her perplexed. "She's smart, Alison told me. If that girl was doing as much digging on Wilden as she claims, she's going to know all the right places to look for him."

x

"I'm sorry, I came as fast as I could," Spencer apologizes as she follows Cece upstairs from the lobby. "How is she holding up?"

"She's doing okay. I mean, as okay as anyone can be when their girlfriend just disappeared with her psychotic ex."

Spencer winces, knowing how sensitive Emily is and prepares herself for the worst. When she walks into the apartment, she sees Emily on her laptop at the table, presumably trying to find a lead.

"Emily," she calls quietly. The brunette turns around and Spencer has never seen more pain in her eyes- it's more than when her parents broke the news of their divorce and more than when she had been with Paige.

"Oh no," Spencer says softly as she walks over and leans down to hug the brunette tightly. "It's going to be okay Emily. We're going to go get her so she can come home and we can put his ass in jail."

"What if we don't?"

"You can't think like that," Spencer tells her gently. "That's not going to do you or Ali any good."

Emily is about to speak when her unlocked door is flung open.

"Are we late?"

The three girls on the inside turn to see Hanna and Aria smiling innocently in the doorway and Emily looks questioningly at Spencer.

"We're all here for you," Aria says gently as they come in. "We want to help you. And Ali."

"Yeah I like her, a lot," Hanna adds. "And I love you."

"Thank you," Emily says hoarsely and they somberly nod.

Cece clears her throat and they look at her. "As adorable as this is, can we just go find him so I can rip his dick off?"

Hanna furrows her eyebrows. "Sorry, who are you?"

Emily sighs, horrible images of a terrified and hurt Alison going through her head. At least she has her friends to go through this with her- Ali is all alone.

x

**I can't tell you how appreciative I am when I see your reviews, so I hope that this quick update lets you know how much I really do enjoy writing for you guys.**

**I wish some of you guys who were guests had accounts so I could thank you properly for your super kind words! :3 You should, cause your reviews seriously make my day.**

**Anyway I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint! xx **


	13. Chapter 13

**Halloween Update Part 2. (I decided to do one each day this weekend)**  
>Spunky bitchy Alison would roll her eyes at the cliché- her arms are behind her back with her wrists handcuffed around a pole in the basement of a shoddy house located in a place she's never been to.<p>

But she's not that brave girl right now, she can barely find the energy inside to tell herself she doesn't deserve this. He reduces her to _nothing_. That's all she feels when he looks at her.

(When Emily looks at her, Alison feels like the she's _everything_)

Wilden descends the stairs and looks at her as he sneers.

"You're always on the ground on your knees aren't you?" he mocks her current position.

Alison avoids direct eye contact but he leans down and grabs her chin, forcing her to look at him. "Do you know why you're here?"

There are a million snarky responses Alison can come up with but she can't bring herself to say any one of them.

"To talk?"

"Sure, to talk," he gloats as he stands up. "We're going to talk about how you gave me this."

He pulls up his shirt and Alison sees a nasty scar where she stabbed him- and she feels no remorse whatsoever.

"And about that little court case that you didn't win," he grins devilishly as he lowers his shirt and gets in her face. She turns to avoid him but he grabs her pale cheeks and squeezes painfully as he holds her focus.

"And then suddenly I'm fired for altering a legal document about a psychiatric report because some bitch doctor that I haven't seen in years comes forward. If that was your greatest form of revenge, then you don't know what I'm capable of," he snarls.

"I had _nothing_ to do with that," she pleads.

He lashes out and slaps her across the face, and her head whips to the side in pain.  
>"Don't lie to me!" he barks, the veins in his neck bulging.<p>

"I'm not," she whimpers, her jaw cheek stinging.

"Oh really? Because I saw you with Veronica Hasting's daughter, and she was the one who went to the doctor to snoop around."

"How long have you been following me?" she asks quietly to confirm Emily's paranoia.

"I've always watched you to make sure you don't ruin my reputation with your big mouth. Now here we are," he sweeps his arms open in a mocking grand gesture. "Just you and me, like old times."

Alison forces herself to keep her mouth shut. Talking will only get her in trouble, and so will not answering him when appropriate. She locks her jaw and stares him down.

"You know what happens to little girls like you who do bad things?" he taunts her in a sickeningly sadistic voice. She watches as he stands and walks over to a pile of his things and pulls out his pistol. Her eyes widen in fear and as he approaches her with it, she begins to scramble in fear but she's stuck in place.

For the entire past month she has felt safe with Emily, and her mind tries to recall all the moments Emily just held her tightly. She always tried to commit those moments to memory when they happened because they were the moments where she felt completely invincible.

"Please don't," she begins to beg as she hears her heart pounding over the sound of clanging metal from her cuffs hitting the pole as she struggles.

"Do you? Do you know what happens?" he keeps at it as he kneels down in front of her with it so he's eye level with her.

"No, please," she cries as tears begin to form in her eyes as he fingers the gun pulling the safety.

"Do you think I'm afraid to shoot this?" he asks her. She shakes her head no as she silently starts to cry slowly. He points the gun at a shelf and shoots a glass jar, shattering it into pieces as Alison shrieks in surprise and flinches, her face crumbling and tears starting to fall faster. The sound of the shot is deafening and she doesn't know if her heart can handle how hard it's beating.

"I could put a bullet through your brain in a second and you'd be gone for good," he says menacingly and by now tears are streaming down Alison's face as her breathing begins to become labored.

"Pl-lease don't do this," she whimpers softly and her blue eyes glisten with her pool of tears. Even when she's crying, they're still radiant. He takes in her form- her body trembling (she thinks she always trembled more around him than stood still), knees on the ground, mouth quivering while her eyes continue to cry.

"Why shouldn't I?" he growls, taking the gun and putting the barrel right to her thigh. She can barely speak, her sobs coming out harder.

"Pl-l-le-ease," she begs earnestly, her voice raw. He raises an eyebrow at her.

"Please shoot? Okay, where would it hurt to shoot the most?" he asks out loud as he traces the gun up her leg and over her center as she flinches and up to her flat tummy.

He grins and cocks the safety back, and Alison begins to panic, her mind going blank as she sobs in pure terror.

She doesn't understand what she ever did to deserve any of this cruelty.

In a flash of a second, he whips the gun towards the wall and shoots it as Alison screams out and jumps, her body shaking so hard she can feel it in her bones. And she can't stop crying.

"Think about where you want me to shoot, and tell me," he says with a smirk and gets up to leave. "I'll be back in a bit."

He exits the room, and Alison tries to get her sobs under control, tries to pull herself together. But she can't. She just fucking _can't_.

It's too much. The yelling, the painfully rough manhandling, the humiliation, the threats, the emotional torture- she went through years of it, but something is different this time and it terrifies her. Her mind and body can't handle it.

So eventually her mind shuts down, all thoughts dissipating, and the last to linger are hopes of Emily being her savior yet again. And then her mind just quits- and Alison, fully traumatized, stares blankly ahead. And all hope in her is lost.

X

"So I just called the police station," Spencer comes back into the apartment with a grim look. The other four turn to look at her anxiously. Hanna is sitting on Emily's lap playing with her hair while Aria makes soup for them as it's quite late already and the brunette hasn't eaten. Cece pours over Spencer's files, trying to find something of use.

"And?" Hanna asks impatiently.

"Apparently he was fired yesterday," she tells them slowly. "I convinced the officer on the phone to tell me why-"

"Isn't that confidential?" Cece interrupts.

"I have my ways," Spencer says without missing a beat. "Anyway so he was fired because that psychiatrist I saw came forward and proved he altered a super important legal document that would have prevented him from being hired in the first place anyway."

"So he's probably on a raging rampage," Cece says frustrated as she continues to look down and pour over the files.

"He wants revenge, and I'm guessing he's going to take his anger out on Alison."

"We have to find her before she ends up dead," Emily says, her voice hoarse. Hanna cradles her head and pulls it into her chest, hugging her best friend and hoping to God that they find the new blonde she'd taken a liking to.

"I don't think you have to worry about her being dead so soon," Spencer says grimly. "He's going to torture her, and make her suffer. He picks victims that are weak because even though he's physically aggressive, he mentally abuses and manipulates people."

"Yeah, that's why there was never any proof of his abuse years ago," Emily adds and Cece nods.

"But he did. It was awful, and she was different then, she was scared of the world when I met her," Cece comments.

"She's changed, and that angers him because now he has misfortune and she not only has found fortune, but he no longer has her. I wouldn't worry so much about him killing her Em. In high school he did some pretty nasty bullying verbally and mentally. I'd worry because he's going to try and break her."

"Jesus Spencer, be a little more blunt and depressing why don't you?" Aria scolds from the counter as she pours Emily a bowl of soup and puts it in front of her.

"We should go check his house first, even if it's too obvious you never know," Cece says pouring through case files.

"We should split up, it'll be more effective that way," Spencer suggests.

"Fine, Sherlock, you come with me, and you three keep looking through this to see where else he might be," Emily says getting to her feet and Spencer looks at the other girls hesitatingly. The tan brunette frowns. "What?"

"You sure you want to come?"

Emily just gives her a long hard look and Spencer sighs. "Fine. Can you please drink some of the soup first?"

"Alison is being tortured and you want me to drink soup?!"

They all give her a look.

"Just a little," Cece says softly from where she stands at the counter and Emily is caught off guard by the kindness in her voice. "Ali wouldn't want you running around on an empty stomach."

The brunette sighs and sits down, giving in and she scarfs it down while Spencer puts a bag together.

"Uh Spence what is that?" Hanna asks as she watches Spencer pack and unpack.

"It's my dad's," she says slowly as she holds up a small pistol. "He doesn't know I took it. But I figured if worst comes to worst…"

"Good thinking."

"Come on, let's go," Emily says finishing, jumping up, and running to her bedroom to grab a jacket- and then the two are gone.

x

**I wanted to write a longer editor's note, but I have to make it short cause I wanted to post this before I left for work today! But again I'm loving the reviews, I love keeping people on the edge of their seat :) **

**And to the people who were concerned about Ali possibly having Wilden's baby or anything like that, don't worry! I can promise I don't even want to write that :p**

**It sounds conceited but when I get so much response to a chapter, I update a whole lot faster (but it's not on purpose I swear, I just feel obligated to when like 20 people are telling me to update asap and all that) soo :3 jus sayin. love you guys! xx**


	14. Chapter 14

**Part 3. **This chapter is particularly dedicated to _Em Loves Ali_- I hope you are no longer in the fetal position pressing F5. And I hope you made popcorn this time, _wishfulthinkingpowell_. And to everyone else who kindly demanded I updated, thanks for kicking my ass to write this cause I loved writing this. Hope you love reading it. :3

x-x-x

A month ago, Emily hadn't felt close enough to her friends anymore to spend Christmas at home. Spencer was busy with getting into law school and Toby, Hanna was busy with conceptualizing her new fashion line and Caleb, and Aria was in the middle of writing three different books, having problems with juggling school and writing. Not to mention balancing her relationship with Ezra.

Nobody even asked if she was coming home until the week of Christmas. She had isolated herself unintentionally by dating Paige, ignoring the far and few attempts they made to reach out to her.

Emily remembers this moment distinctly: she received a phone call on the morning of Christmas Eve, from Toby, her dear old neighbor, asking where she was and if she wanted to get coffee at The Brew. She told him she was staying in Philadelphia, and that she thought Spencer would have told him.

He had heard the despondence in her voice.

"Don't spend Christmas by yourself," he had tried to sway her.

"I'm single now, so," she had argued weakly.

"Single is good sometimes! Think about all the things single people can do. You know what I used to do with my friends when they were newly single? We'd hit up a strip club."

"Toby!" she never thought goody two shoes Toby would have partaken in such activities.

"Relax Emily, it's not like I did anything. I was there for my buddies. It was a good time. The girls are usually nice, and what's wrong with eye candy right? At least they felt the freedom of being single."

So, stupidly (she thinks now) she had decided to blindly follow his advice. And then she had found herself in a strip club. On Christmas Eve. She had been so close to leaving, wondering what she had been thinking, and then _she_ had somehow appeared right next to her, eyes bright and a knowing look on her face. Emily isn't sure how she hadn't noticed Alison until that moment, and she wonders if Alison had noticed her before that moment.

It's on her growing list of things she wants to ask Alison when she finds her. She wants to know if Alison had been waiting to talk to her, if she knew that Emily was seconds away from leaving, seconds away from making the worst decision of her life.

She wants to ask Alison what her secret is to making her cookies so damn good. Or if she would be okay with the king size bedroom even if the queen size one had a better view in New York. Emily wants to let Alison know that she can tell her the exact location of her tiny birthmark on her inner thigh about a hands length away from her center.

There are just all these things she wants to share with Ali when all of a sudden she _can't_.

"Did you hear me?"

The brunette shakes her head as they approach a lonely city house.

"I need you to stay focused," Spencer tells her in a firm but gentle voice as she rests her hands on Emily's shoulders.

"Sorry," Emily mumbles and Spencer shakes her head, dismissing her kindly and squeezes her arms comfortingly.

"We'll find her, trust me," she says earnestly and Emily realizes now that even though they had drifted, those three girls never stopped caring about her. There are no amount of words she could say to them to ever thank her for being with her through this.

"Now listen to me," Spencer orders her quietly. "Stay very close behind me. I have the gun on the inside of my jacket."

"It doesn't look like anyone's home," Emily comments.

"Yeah, let's hope he's not and she is," Spencer dryly retorts as she starts to move carefully towards the house.

X

She can't sleep. No matter how hard she tries, she can't even force herself to just shut her eyes. Of course, sleeping while kneeling on a filthy floor with your arms behind your back against a cold pole isn't exactly how Alison would describe her ideal bedtime position.

The blonde winces every time she shifts because she can feel the skin on her wrists rubbing raw, and she's sure that soon they'll start bleeding, the cuffs snug on her.

He hasn't come back, and she wonders if he's sleeping, or what he's doing.

It's dark except for the pathetically dim light bulb, and she doesn't know how long she's been in there but she's pretty sure it's the middle of the night.

When she hears a shuffling noise across the room in the corner, her eyes dart around nervously.

_Please don't be a rat, please don't be a rat, please don't be a-_

Alison shrieks as she sees a giant rodent leering at her in the corner and she struggles against her restraints, trying to put as much distance between it and her as possible. But it's only hurting her wrists, bruising the bones.

X

"Let's take this and run, I don't want to be here when he gets back," Spencer shudders. The two of them are at Wilden's desk in his house, gathering as much important looking stuff as they can. Tax files, accounting records, bullshit like that.

"He'll know," Emily says hesitatingly.

"So? He took your girlfriend Emily, I'm sure taking revenge by taking his papers is morally sound," Spencer pushes her limits.

When the two of them get back to Emily's, files in hand, Cece springs on them, wide awake.

"So when I was going through his case files, I read his psychiatric record from high school. In his grandpa's house, a little outside of the city, he'd have kids hang out there since his grandpa was mostly in and out of the hospital. That's where all the bullying would happen. Maybe he's a creature of habit."

"True, but we don't know if someone's taken over that house since then or if it even still exists, or where," Spencer quips.

"So let's find out," Emily says hastily and they all sit down at the table, save Hanna and Aria who have passed out on the couch.

X

"I stopped by my place to grab a few things. Do you know who I just saw outside there?"

Alison stars blankly ahead, not wanting to answer..

"Take a guess, she was a tall, tan, lean brunette, looked like she'd be fun to play with," he taunts her and Alison's eyes turn black out of hatred as she stares at him loathingly. "I wonder what she sounds like when she begs-"

"Don't touch her!" Alison shouts with blind anger as she tries to lunge forward, suddenly seeing red as her body suddenly comes to life at the mention of Emily being threatened. But her body is on autopilot, her emotions are volatile and uncontrollable.

"I'll do what I want with her," he snarls as he kicks Alison's side harshly, causing her to yelp like a puppy. He leans down next to her, determined to make her suffer.

"Does Emily know what a whore you are?"

Alison looks at him with pained eyes and keeps her jaw locked. "Remember how pathetic you were? It was so easy, you'd crawl right back into bed with me and beg. I still have those lovely pictures, do you want to see them?"

The blonde's body trembles with memories of the past, and she finds her mind slipping back into a vast black hole of hopelessness.

"I'll show Emily, that's a better idea," he says. The blonde hopes he's bluffing, because she knows those photos of her would destroy Emily. Not because she looked like a whore, but because Emily knows the truth- and Emily knows how humiliating that was, how terrible Alison felt. She knows the brunette loves her so much that those pictures would haunt her.

When Alison doesn't respond, doesn't give in to his taunting, he scowls fiercely.

"Have you ever heard the saying an eye for an eye?"

She looks up at him blankly. He walks over to a table, fiddling with random objects on it, his back to her as he continues.

"I know you know what it is. So, Alison, let's see if you can wrap your head around this. Remember that scar you gave me? How did you do it?"

Her stomach twists as she thinks about where he's going with this.

"I'll tell you how," he says as he turns around and her stomach starts flipping and she thinks she's going to throw up any second. "You took a knife and tried to stab me."

He's holding a knife in his hand- a small knife, but still one all the same.

"Eye for an eye," he says as he walks over and she tries to refrain from squirming but as he kneels down in front of her she tries to wretch herself away from him.

"If you move, I'll accidentally cut deeper than I meant to," he says with a smile as if hoping so and places the blade flat against her face, running the dull edge down her cheek to her neck.

"D-d-d-o-n't," she barely manages to say before he goes behind her, leans down, and clamps his hand down in front of her mouth. In one swift motion, he brings the knife down to her thigh and slashes- she releases a loud, agonizing but muffled scream.

X

"You guys are still awake?" Aria mumbles as she steps into the kitchen, half asleep, to grab water. She goes over to Emily and leans on her, looking over her shoulder. She kisses the top of Emily's head sweetly and the brunette lets herself relax for just a moment before her eyes spot something.

"Look at this," Emily grabs a stapled document and flips through it.

"What is it?" Cece pauses.

"A deed, to a house, and it's not the address we were just at," she says as her eyes furrow.

"This is the address from the high school files," Spencer grabs the documents and puts them side by side.

"Guys I have a really, really bad feeling that she's there," Emily says with a growing sense of urgency building up all over again.

"Me too," Cece mumbles and jumps up.

"We have to go, now," Emily reaches for her bag and Spencer nods.

"Aria, wake Hanna up, let's all go," Spencer says as she grabs her stuff.

"All of us? Is that wise?" Cece questions as she grabs a jacket and makes sure Emily puts one on as well.

"It's better if some of them stay in the car, backup," Emily suggests and the law studying brunette nods. She watches as the blonde goes through Emily's kitchen and pulls out two very sharp kitchen knives with their blades protected. Cece hands them to the tan brunette hesitatingly.

"Don't use it unless you have to," she says cautiously, not wanting Emily to lose her shit and stab Wilden to death (as much as they all want that to happen). Her voice is quiet as she continues. "This is about getting Ali out of there okay? Not extracting revenge. He'll get what's coming for him."

"I just want her safe, here," Emily says in a strained voice as her eyes threaten to spill over.

"Come on, she's waiting for you," Hanna says with a smile as she hugs Emily from behind. "Let's go save your hot stripper!"

"Hanna!"

x

Alison's little cries and whimpers as she tries to cope with the excruciating throbbing from her leg are the only sounds in the room as Wilden cleans off his knife and puts it in a well hidden spot along the walls.

"That was fun, but this is suddenly losing my interest," he says in a bored tone as he walks over to her body as she squirms, trying to make the pain stop.

"I have nothing to lose," he says grimly as he paces in front of her as if debating something internally. "I should really just kill you now and leave town. It'd be a few days before anyone found you."

Alison doesn't know what the hell to say, so she stays silent (except she just can't stop her little whimpers, it hurts so damn bad). She sees blood trickling rather quickly off her porcelain skin and she tries to shut her eyes, block everything out. If there's a god out there, she's praying that somebody, _anybody_ will come find her before this lunatic kills her within the next few minutes.

"I want you to tell me about Emily," he says as he sits down in front of her, and she can't believe he can sit there so calmly like a school boy. He looks at her expectantly; she looks at him like he's crazy. "Come on, tell me about her."

She doesn't answer, only blinks at looks at him. He grows impatient at her silence and takes the butt of his gun and whacks the side of her head, just hard enough that it doesn't knock her out but so that she's reeling in more pain.

"Talk, or I'll fucking blow your brains out," he growls pointing the gun to her temple and she begins to shake.

"W-w-w-hat do I s-s-say?"

"What's your favorite thing about her?"

Alison has to think, because she loves everything about Emily. And it's not like she really cares whether this bastard knows the truth or not.

"She's kind," Alison manages to say between her increasing cries as he presses the gun harder against her temple.

"What is your favorite memory with her?"

Alison doesn't think about what game he's playing. Her mind finally let's her escape and she gets lost in her memory for a few second.

_"Wanna taste how sweet it is?" she askes. _

_ She brushes her lips against Emily's. _

_ Emily kisses her._

_ Emily's fingers are cold, touching the small of her back, sending shivers._

_ She presses her body against Emily's, tightly._

_ Emily's hands run up and down her back.  
>They pull apart, chests heaving, catching their breaths, foreheads pressed together.<em>

_ Everything is perfect- it smells like cookies, the Christmas lights are on, with Christmas music playing, and Alison's always hated this holiday but she can no longer hate it when she's in the arms of the person she just knows is going to be her forever. _

But she's brought out of her memory by the cold barrel pressing again into her temple.

"Christmas," she simply says.

He smirks, knowing she's getting lost in her thoughts.

"Does she make you feel safe?"

Alison thinks to how Emily is the _only_ person who makes her feel safe. The brunette's strong, warm embrace is the only place she knows to call home. So she nods pathetically.

"Do you know how to please her? Make her scream?"

Alison can _not_ even think about that right now with this _monster_ in front of her. Her eyes narrow, as menacingly as she can with her body in this much pain, and she lowers her voice.

"I will not talk about her like that with _you_," she defies him bravely. It's the one thing that's sacred to her. She might joke about her sex life with Hanna and Cece and anyone else, but even they don't know how truly intimate her and Emily are.

Because when it's more than just sex between them, it's a whole new world of feelings for Alison. Fooling around in the back of Emily's car was nothing. Doing it for the first time, or after the hospital, or any time with intense emotion was terrifying and wonderful and exhilarating. It all makes her dizzy with emotion and she just can't fathom how someone could make her feel so goddamn special, someone she views as perfection.

And she _refuses_ to degrade their intimacy. It's a line she won't cross.

"I bet she's going to ask you to marry her, that girl is crazy about you, even I can see that," he says dryly and Alison doesn't understand what he's doing.

"Too bad all she's going to find is your body. Can't marry a corpse."

If she wasn't tied up, she'd annihilate Wilden for threatening Emily's happiness like that. And then it hits her, that he really intends on killing her.

"Open your mouth."

She looks at him, trying to remain calm, and stays completely still.

"Open wide."

He glares at her, and she begins to wither, cowering, but still abstaining.

"I said fucking open your mouth!" he shouts and she tries to back away from him but he grabs her nose with one hand, pinching it shut until she can't breathe, until she's forced to breathe through her mouth, gasping for air, and to her horror he shoves the gun inside as she gasps for air.

And she just _loses_ it. She's never felt more fear in her life, nothing else compares to the way her body is violently jolting with panic and her eyes are wide with terror and she's _screaming_ at the top of her lungs, but every word is muffled and incoherent.

He had brought her to her favorite memories, brought her to her safety- and now he's ripping it all away from her. All she can think of is Emily.

"You fucking ungrateful bitch!" he yells at her as he shakes the gun in her mouth and tears stream down her face. Her muffled shouts of fear are lost, and she's never felt more alone.

"You deserve all of this!"

He cocks the safety back and Alison's eyes widen and she screams at the top of her lungs, hoping someone hears her before it's too late. She can't even see, her tears have blurred her vision, her body is on fire- and she knows, she's going to die completely alone.

x

"There doesn't look like there's anyone here," Emily says from the car as Cece gets out with Spencer.

"We have to check, come on," the older blonde says.

"Stay behind me," Spencer leads and they stay very, very close.

When they get to the front door, they're not surprised to find it's locked. Spencer pulls out a bobby pin type of little metal and begins to pick at the lock. Cece gives Emily a look.

"It's how we got into his house," Emily explains as Spencer works her magic.

"Got it," Spencer says as she jiggles the knob and it turns all the way. "Got Hanna still on the phone?"  
>"Yup," Cece says pulling it out and holding it up to her ear. "We're going in."<p>

Hanna sees the three standing at the door as she sits in the car with Aria.

"I don't have a good idea about this," Hanna murmurs to herself as she hears Cece speak.

"Just be ready for anything," Cece says and puts her phone back in her pocket, still on.

Spencer slowly turns the knob and pushes the creaking door open.

"Careful-" Cece is cut off by a faint scream- it sounded excruciating.

"Ali!" Emily yells with panic and shoves Spencer out of the way, darting inside the house.

"Shit," Spencer curses as she chases after the tan girl with Cece hot on her tail.

X

Her heart is pounding wildly, threatening to beat out of her chest. He fingers the pulled back safety, gives her a smug look, and says, "It's over Alison."

She watches in slow motion as his fingers land on the trigger.

He pulls it-she squeezes her eyes tightly, and her body convulses in panic.

And then, after a few moments of dead silence, and her terrified sobs, and the rattling of her cuffs against the pole, she hears his deep, sadistic laugh as he pulls the gun back.

He _meant_ to do that.

"Dumb fuckin-"

But he never finishes as a blur of brown hair tackles him to the ground, fists flying wildly as his gun drops.

Alison can't see through her shaking vision and blurry eyes what's happening, and her heart is still beating rapidly, her body and mind in shock.

Cece and Spencer come bolting down the stairs after Emily and see the blonde helplessly shaking and sobbing with blood all over her leg.

"Oh my god," Cece runs over to her with Spencer and tries to free her from the cuffs but the blonde is frantic, like a scared deer, and she keeps backing away from her and screaming.

Emily focuses on nothing but beating Wilden until he can't fight back- but he's stronger than her and eventually flips them so he's on top. She can't reach the knife that's inside her jacket.

"I fucked your girlfriend," he taunts Emily as he puts his hands around her throat and slowly chokes her. "I fucked your girlfriend long and hard before you ever did. And I had her trained, she crawled like a good little bitch. Does she-"

He's cut off again as Emily throws him off of her, not hard, but enough to sit up. She pulls her knife out, and unsheathes it.

"You're a fucking monster," she seethes as her killer personality shines through and she fights back with just as much venom as he has, lunging but missing him though her knife grazes his shoulder.

Spencer fingers her gun in her pocket, ready to draw when the time is right, too scared that she'll shoot the wrong person in a heated fight.

It all happens too fast- he gets to his feet somehow, knocking Emily backwards to the ground and her weapon goes flying. He grabs his knife off of the table, and lunges for Emily on the ground, missing her but able to grab her arm and crawl on top of her. He swings wildly, attempting to stab Emily right in the stomach, but a whirl of blonde hair interferes by getting right between them, and there's a loud bang- and then all hell breaks lose with panicked chaos in the aftermath.

There are footsteps on the stairs and Hanna appears with a look of horror as she sees blood.

"Oh my god!"

**A/N: I hope this is as good as you guys anticipated! Was nervous as I wrote/posted it. Also. The aftermath is pretty brutal. Just a warning. Like, emotionally brutal.**

**Also, to guests Z, emisonbish, buttahbenzoteam, and tash, and all the other anons, thanks for your kind words! They made me laugh, and smile, and write.  
>And I do mean to respond to everyone, I love talking about writing and hearing feedback!<br>Feel free to PM me anytime :) and review as always if you feel so inclined :3**

**Much love xx**


	15. Chapter 15

**The Aftermath.**

**FAIR WARNING- It's a pretty emotional chapter.**

This is for every single person who left me reviews telling me they are on the edge of their seat, waiting anxiously for an update (and to the hilarious guest who thinks I don't have school, nice try :3 I'm finishing up my last year of college- some of you guys are so damn funny I swear). I skipped class today so I had a bit of time to write, and so this is what I just wrote in the last few hours!

There was an oh-so-kind reviewer who decided to point out, _again_, that I should "do my research" before writing about strip clubs and things I don't know, but I'm not sure what more research you want than it being based off true events that happened in my life...  
>(And lol to the guest who defended the story and used the term "strip club guru" 3 )<p>

Anyway not to put them on blast but please don't come at me with pitchforks if any of this chapter is slightly factually incorrect- I'm just doin' my best, chuggin' along as I write in my spare time between classes and work and interning and producing two short films- sorry if there's a mistake! Just go with it, PLL is full of ridiculous things. :p

Enjoy!

**x-x-x**

It all happens too fast- Wilden gets a surge of rage and throws Emily off of him, and she falls on her back as her only weapon clatters to the ground a distance away from her. She tries to recover and sees him grab a knife of his own off the table, and he lunges forward right at her, so she throws herself to the side, rolling towards where her knife is. It's just out of arm's length and she reaches for it- but she feels his rough hand grab her and pull her forearm, yanking her towards him as he struggles with her and climbs on top of her, straddling her waist as he fights with her to keep her still. And then he raises his blade up, and Emily's heart almost stops.

She hears Alison in the background screaming her name in a way she never wanted to hear- sheer terror.

In the next two seconds there are a series of hurried footsteps, and all Emily sees is a blur of blonde hair as a body knocks Wilden off Emily, and he goes reeling to the side with the blonde falling on top across Emily's midsection, face down. The brunette watches in panic, starting to yell, as Wilden's eyes turn black with anger and he gets up and lunges, plunging the knife into the lower back of the body on top of her.

There's an ear piercing scream and Emily cringes as she watches the blonde's face come up with a twisted look of pain as she cries out. Emily watches as if in slow motion as Wilden pulls the knife out, twisting it on the way out, and blindly brings it down again, missing Emily and driving it into the back of the girl on top of her.

Then there's a loud gunshot, and Emily watches in horror as Wilden suddenly crumples, falls forward onto his knife in the girl's back, and lies on top of her, dead.

Emily begins to scream in total shock and terror as blood covers her and she realizes she's lying under at least one dead body.

"Spencer! Help!" she shrieks and she hears Hanna scream and the two friends run and pull Wilden's body off of the blonde and Emily, throwing him carelessly to the side. There's a white noise in her ears and she can barely hear anything else as she focuses on the ceiling, feeling dizzy.

"Get her off me," Emily cries desperately, slipping into a state of pure panic. "She needs help, we need to go get her help now-"

Hanna cringes, unable to look at the knife deep in her back and Spencer closes her eyes as she pulls it out, grimacing the entire time.

Emily can't process what's going on right now as her panicked crying increases, her heart pounding out of her ribcage, and the two girls pick the blonde up gently and turn her over on her back. The brunette sits up, her clothes completely drenched with blood that's not her own- and she knows that this moment is going to haunt her for the rest of her life as she sees the blonde, lifeless.

"No! No, God no!"

They hear _Alison_ screaming at the top of her lungs, sobbing from where she's still chained- and the look of total despair on her face is heartbreaking.

"Cece! God damn it _Cece_!" she yells over and over again, her voice hoarse and strained with intensity.

"Cece wake up!" Alison's body is wracking with sobs and her wrists begin to bleed as she frantically tries to pull away from the pole she's stuck to, unable to go be next to her best friend, the only person who took her in when she had absolutely nobody.

"Emily do something!" Alison begs as she screams, and the brunette looks at her through pained eyes and feels her heart slowly break as she sees her girlfriend in a total state of helpless misery. Hanna's on the phone with 911, but Emily can hardly focus on anything, suddenly feeling faint.

Something feels weird, feels off. She looks down at her abdomen's side and sees a deep slit- and she realizes not all the blood on her is Cece's.

"Emily, please," Alison pleads helplessly as she looks at the brunette who is touching her wound, pulling her hand away from it and staring at the blood. "Emily?"

The brunette looks up at her, in a numb state with her confused eyes. She realizes that while Wilden had been struggling as he tried to pin her down, he had sliced her side open- and she hadn't felt a thing because of the adrenaline.

The chained blonde follows Emily's gaze down to her side and her eyes widen as they see the injury.

"Emily- no!" Alison shrieks as she watches her girlfriend fall backwards on one arm in pain as she holds her side.

There's only so much Alison can take- and she reached her breaking point long ago. She feels Hanna's arms around her, holding her head against her chest as she tries to soothe the blonde, but all Alison can see is Cece lying there, lifeless, and Emily squirming on the floor in agony. Grief is flooding her entire being, and she can't breathe properly- she feels like she's suffocating.

When the police come, and somebody _finally_ manages to release her, she flies to Cece's side in an instant, flinging herself against her and begging her to wake up. All eyes are on her as she cries into Cece's shoulder and her fists grab at Cece's bloody shirt in dread at the blatant truth- her older sister, as she's come to know Cece as, isn't going to open her eyes ever again. It's a painful, tragic sight for everyone in the room as Alison's body shakes visibly in anguish.

Eventually, officers have to rip her away from Cece and restrain her as they carry the body away. The blonde yells in protest and tries to pull away, tries to get to Cece, to no avail. Suddenly, she feels dizzy, and she simply falls over as her body shuts down and she faints.

x-x-x

The room is eerily silent, save the beeping of a monitor. Alison's dead eyes stay open, watching her girlfriend sleep. There is no strength left inside her- she can't cry, can't scream, can't be happy to be alive with her girlfriend right now.

She glances down at her thigh and sees the bandage there- the gash is sure to form a nasty scar later.

Alison doesn't feel sad. She doesn't feel anything. All she wants is for her girlfriend to wake up so she can take her and go home.

Eventually, later, when Emily's eyes flutter open, she sees Alison staring at her- and the sight shocks her. All she sees is this empty, dull look- her eyes have loss their glossy vibrant color. She wants to hug her, wants to kiss her and tell her how scared she was and how she loves her so much- but she can't bring herself to say anything as she looks at the broken girl in front of her.

"Ali," she says hoarsely as her voice cracks and the blonde's expression doesn't change.

"Do you feel okay to go home?" Ali asks, her voice flat and expressionless. She looks like she's in a trance.

Emily looks down at her side frowning and sees stitches. There's pain, but she's sure medicine will take care of everything.

She nods slowly- she can't express the amount of relief she has seeing Alison alive, but this state she's in is concerning, though Emily's not sure why she expected anything better than this. Her mind hasn't processed all the events fully yet. All she knows is that she's alive, Ali's alive, and Cece is dead, along with that bastard. And she just can't process that.

"I'll go get the doctor," the blonde says getting up but Emily reaches out and grabs her hand.

"Wait," Emily says her voice trembling. "Ali."

She doesn't say anything more, they just look at each other. There's too much to speak about, so they don't speak at all. Their eyes do all the talking. They both might be alive, but they are worlds away from being stable again.

Alison gives her a forced close lip smile as she gently pulls her hand away and goes to get the doctor so she can get the hell out of that hospital.

Emily doesn't quite understand- but there's nothing she can do.

x-x-x

When they're at home, Alison goes straight to their bed room and strips down into her underwear. She looks at herself in the mirror, disgusted. The blonde shakes her head and peels the rest off, totally naked and staring in the mirror with a long, hard look.

"The girls are sleeping outside," Emily says as she shuts the bedroom door and locks it. She's startled to see her girlfriend walk out of the bathroom, totally bare.

She doesn't stare for too long, but she sees bruises all over Alison- one on her ribcage/side, on her cheek, the bandage around her thigh- her girlfriend looked like a beat up rag doll.

"I'm going to sleep," Ali says dully as she crawls into bed under the covers. "Are you coming?"

Emily wordlessly nods and strips down too, not wanting the blonde to feel vulnerable or anything like that. She doesn't know how to behave, she has no idea what happened to Alison- they haven't talked, haven't even said _I love you_ to each other.

Alison looks at Emily, her eyes wandering up an down the brunette, but they aren't appreciating or admiring, just blank. It sends frightening shivers down Emily's spine to see her so deprived of life. She climbs into bed, next to the blonde, and reaches to her bedside table to turn the lamp off.

But tiny fingers wrap around her wrist, and she turns to see Alison staring at her.

"Can you leave the light on tonight?"

She's not begging, not demanding, just asking with no expression. Emily nods and shuffles under the covers, unsure of how Alison wants to sleep.

Apparently, Alison _doesn't_ want to sleep. Emily closes her eyes but quickly opens them back up at the feeling of cold fingers running up her thigh, nails dragging up teasingly.

"Alison what are you doimmf-"

Her words are muffed as the blonde presses her lips to Emily's, shushing her, and the brunette doesn't like this feeling- like Alison's hollow, and not really there.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Alison asks in a low voice but it's not husky or seductive, just hoarse and broken. She brings her hand to Emily's center as the brunette exhales loudly, gasping as Ali runs her cold fingers through her folds.

Emily knows this is so incredibly wrong. Ali's best friend, practically her older sister, just died not even 24 hours ago and suddenly Alison is trying to jump Emily's bones.

"I don't think you want this right now," Emily says gently, trying to grab her hand down there. Alison scowls at her.

"I do, I want this," she insists strongly, eyes daring Emily to challenge her. It frightens the brunette, but she stands her ground.

"Please just trust me," Emily pleads softly, guiding Alison's hand up to her chest instead and placing it over her beating heart.

Alison's demeanor softens and she ever so slowly moves her fingers against the soft skin, letting the touch and rhythmic beating of Emily's heart relax her. Her features relax and her body seems to release tension as her muscles slack.

Emily scoots closer, and then closes her eyes as she lightly holds Alison's hand on her chest. The blonde, ever so slowly, over a matter of minutes, shuffles closer and tucks her head in the crook of Emily's shoulder. Emily tilts her head and kisses Alison's head softly, lingering for a few moments.

Neither of them fall asleep for a very long time, but they're comforted by each others' presence at least, and it's enough for them tonight.

x-x-x

Emily sits uncomfortably at her kitchen table with a bowl of cereal the next morning. Alison doesn't even pick at her toast, doesn't touch it. There's a thick silence in the room, and a cough interrupts them. The brunette looks to see Hanna leaning against the counter and frowns at her. She holds up her hands defensively.

The brunette watches as Alison doesn't move a muscle, her right arm on the table with her elbow propping her arm up to hold her head as she stares at the table top.

"Do you guys mind going down to the station and seeing what needs taken care of?" Emily asks quietly of her awkwardly standing friends.

"Yes, of course, let's go," Aria says quickly jumping at the chance to get out of that apartment and let the two work things out.

"Call us if you need anything," Spencer tells Emily in a hushed voice and the brunette nods.

The three leave, and Ali remains in the same position, still staring down.

"Are you going to eat?" Emily asks in her most patient voice, trying to be as gentle as possible.

Alison doesn't answer for at least a minute, and the silence kills Emily.

"Maybe later," is all she replies as she pushes her chair back and stands up, looking at Emily as if waiting for her to speak, so the brunette clears her throat.

"Where are you going?"

"To shower."

Emily watches her go into the bedroom, and the blonde turns to see Emily's eyes on her, and she leaves both the bathroom door and bedroom door open. The brunette curses under her breath, not knowing whether she should be coaxing Alison to try and recover, or to let her stay in this blank state for now.

She sighs and grabs a book off her table and sits on the couch, attempting to read and not being able to. When the shower turns off, it's only a few minutes before Alison appears and sits at the opposite end of her couch, dressed with her damp hair air drying.

"Feel better?" Emily tries to ask and the blonde just looks at the ground as she shakes her head.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No!" Alison responds immediately, her head never turning to look at Emily but her shoulders are slumped over.

Emily nods and puts the book down. She stands up and is interrupted by the blonde.

"Where are you going?" though her voice is blank, she sees a trace of fear lingering in Ali's eyes.

"I'm just going to freshen up," Emily tells her quietly. Alison stands up and follows her into the bedroom, sitting down on the bed cross legged just watching. Emily notes that though the blonde isn't letting on, she doesn't want to be alone. She had followed Emily to the kitchen this morning, staying a few feet away from her at all times, but still Emily saw her eyes watching, making sure she was in sight. When she had sat down, Alison had sat down.

The silence is so awkward and painful that Emily truly doesn't know what she's going to do if this is going to last a long time.

And sure enough, when she walks out to grab her book from the living room, Alison slides off the bed and follows her, like a mindless body. Emily pauses after she grabs it, wanting to go back into her room, but Alison stands a few feet behind her, lingering and looking at the walls. It takes all her will power to not just go and hug Alison and tell her all the things she's been holding back since she found her. But she knows it is _definitely_ not the time for that.

She turns around and smiles weakly at the blonde, walking back to her and taking her hand carefully, leading her back to bed. Wordlessly, Alison crawls under the covers, clearly exhausted, and Emily does the same before she wraps an arm around her, playing with her hair. She feels the petite blonde sigh and eventually Ali moves her head onto Emily's steadily rising and falling chest, her hand clutching her shirt, body pressed against Emily's side. And Emily's little ministrations on her head cause her eyes to shut and she sips into a light sleep while Emily spends the next few hours wondering what the hell to do.

x-x-x

"That's not right!" Alison shouts as she slams her fists down on the table, startling everyone in the office, and Emily even jumps a bit.

"Ms. Drake's remains are to be handled by her aunt and uncle and they wish to donate-"

Alison won't hear it.

"She didn't fucking have any family! I was her family! She was my _sister!_ Her parents died, grandparents left her alone and then they died, and her fucking aunt and uncle didn't do shit for her! She told me once that she wanted to be cremated and spread in the ocean, not fucking picked apart by medical students! They can't have control over this, you filthy fucking-!"

"Alison calm down-"

"Shut up Emily!" she shouts as she turns to her right and glares at her girlfriend who stares at her in shock.

"Ms. DiLaurentis-"

"Forget it, you fucking piece of shit," she rages and storms out of the office, slamming the door so hard that the walls to shake. Emily has _never_ seen her that angry.

"Emily you have to go after her," Hanna nudges and the brunette looks at her like she's crazy.

"You heard her she just yelled at me! She's never yelled at me like that before."

"She's traumatized, Em. You can't take it personally," Aria says gently. "She's hurting, and she needs you. You know this isn't who she actually is."

Emily recalls the way Alison's eyes last night had looked almost vicious when she was trying to seduce her. That wasn't her sweet Alison at all.

"Emily, go, I'll take care of this," Spencer says quietly and the brunette sighs as she gets up and runs out of the court office.

She doesn't know where the blonde would have gone, so she goes in the direction of the exit. Her instincts are right, in the vast, empty foyer of the courthouse she can hear echoes of someone sniffling.

Carefully she pads around until she sees her girlfriend hidden behind a pillar on the floor with her back against the marble and her knees tucked tight under her arms with her head buried in them, her body shaking slightly with every little sniffle.

Emily crouches down on the floor in front of Alison.

"Hey," she says quietly and the blonde's head whips up to see Emily with an ever so tiny smile on her face.

There's a moment of Alison sniffling before Emily gets the wind knocked out of her as she sees a blur of blonde hair fly at her and Alison launches herself right into Emily's arms, causing the brunette to fall backwards, luckily catching herself and Alison.

"I'm sorry," Alison whispers apologetically in Emily's ear as she hugs her tightly in a bone-crushing embrace. "Please don't leave me."

"I'm not going anywhere," Emily says softly as she lets one hand rub Ali's back in little circles.

"I didn't mean to, back there," she mumbles as she hides her face in Emily's shoulder, inhaling and relaxing a little as she smells the familiar scent that she loves.

"I know," Emily breathes, relieved. Alison clings to her, her grip never letting up.

"I just…I can't…Cece…" Ali tries to speak but can't formulate a proper sentence.

"Cece loved you. If she hadn't done what she did, I'd be dead. And she knew that," Emily says softly as she begins to feel tears building in her own eyes. "She wanted you to be happy."

"She believed me," Alison chokes out her words and Emily feels a pang of anguish knowing that Cece Drake had found Ali when she was at her worse, and had changed her world. It might not have been the best option, but she gave Ali hope and everything she had to offer. She was always looking out for her, no matter what. "Now she's gone."

Emily doesn't know what else to say, she has no words. So she just holds Alison closer, and hopes that it's enough.

**x-x-x**

**A/N:**

I loved Cece, but I've had this planned all along, and I tried to really make her likable on purpose. She doesn't end here, she makes little appearances throughout the ending. Rest assured, she gets her due respect.

Also, I'm trying to update every day, if not every other day, cause god I love reading your reactions all the time! I want every chapter to be just as good as the last, that's my goal.

Thank you for all your kind words Kdriz, Tash, Catch 22 (clever name, btw), ZSU20, buttahbenzoteam, and every other guest whom I can't talk to personally :)

THANK YOU as always, I _so_ appreciate every word you guys write! :) thanks for reading xx


	16. CeCe's Chapter

**Cece's Chapter.**

I'm sorry to everyone who cried while reading that last chapter- I honestly didn't think it was that powerful. Sometimes, when I write, I'm pretty desensitized to the emotions- they're just words as part of a story. I suppose on one hand, it's a good thing because it means I can convey emotion well, but on the other it wasn't supposed to be _that_ brutal.

So, here's a tribute chapter dedicated to CeCe Drake. It's her last 48 hours alive- her story and thoughts. I didn't plan on writing this, but it's how I had envisioned she would be.

x-x-x

Cece really fucking wishes that Emily would stop pacing. It's giving her a headache. Not to mention it's 3 am. It's not like Alison's _dying_, she's just passed out. And the older blonde has had one too many stupid nights involving drugs to really be too concerned.

"Emily," she tries to say without irritation in her voice. "She's not going to die. The doctor said so. She was just drugged, and it's not enough for it to be an overdose."

"I know that," the Pocahontas look-a-like says as she continues to pace and Cece rolls her eyes. She loves the two younger girls, but their antics really grind her nerves some times.

She's never been an affectionate person. Her parents died when she was younger, years ago. She doesn't miss them really- they never paid attention to her. It was something she could relate to Alison about. Her grandparents had kicked her out at eighteen, and she's been on her own since then.

And since then, it's been one shit storm after another to hit her- having to find a job, shitty living situations until she got money, getting involved with the wrong people, drunk mistakes, drug use- trying desperately to find a place to belong.

Cece remembers the day she met Alison. It was comical, really, in her mind. Alison had wandered in, looking for a job.

_"You?" Cece asks, amused as she looks the timid blonde girl up and down. She looked like she was sixteen, she couldn't be any older than eighteen or nineteen. "You want to work here?"_

_ "Well, yeah," Alison had stammered. The older blonde could tell she intimidated the younger girl._

_ "Have you even had sex before?" Cece teases, eyebrows raised. _

_ "Of course I have!" Alison had retorted a little too quickly, cheeks turning red. _

_ "Fine, come with me, I'm in charge of screening the new girls anyway," she told her. "Do you want to start now?"_

_ "L-l-ike right now?" Alison had asked, surprised._

_ "Now or never," Cece said impatiently and Ali nodded so she followed the older blonde to the dressing room. And Cece doesn't expect her to last more than 30 minutes in here, the girl doesn't look bold enough to make a first move._

_ When she turns around, she sees Alison blushing furiously and realizes the younger girl had totally been checking her out. She can have some fun with this._

_ "Strip," she orders with a smirk and watches Alison's eyes widen. Cece notices how fearful she looks, was she coming off too harsh? She clears her throat. "I mean, this is a strip club."_

_ "Right," Alison replies weakly and slowly takes her top off, leaving herself in a plain black bra. She fumbles with the buttons on her jeans, her hands shaking._

_ "Sometime today," Cece taunts and decides to mess with this poor girl. As soon as she sees she's undone the button, Cece goes up to her, drops to her knees, and pulls her jeans down in one swift motion. _

_ She hears the girl gasp loudly as she stands up and gets right in Alison's face. _

_ "Nice, you have a tight little body," Cece says in a husky voice and she smiles at the way Alison blushes. _

_ "Loosen up, I'm just messing around with you," the older blonde says as she takes a step back. "I know I'm hot and all but please, don't fall in love with me or anything like that."_

_ Alison scoffs, a real smile finally gracing her face. _

_ "If I give you lingerie, can you go change?"_

_ Alison nods and goes to while Cece heats up her curling iron and fixes her own hair. _

_ When Alison comes back out, dressed in a hot, seductive red set of lingerie, Cece smiles and motions to the chair._

_ "Sit here kiddo," she says and Alison obeys. Cece does her hair and makes small talk with her. And when she finishes, she turns Alison around and does her makeup. When she steps back, she sees a __**very**__ seductive, hot looking girl in front of her. _

_ "Damn," Cece says crossing her arms, pleased with her work. "Look in the mirror."_

_ Alison stands up and looks in surprise, caught off guard by how bold she looks. _

_ "Why do you need this job so bad anyway?" Cece asks, curiously. The teasing tone is left out of her question, and she looks at Alison sincerely. _

_ "Nobody else will hire me," she says sadly as she looks away._

_ "Look kid I'm no resume wizard but I'm sure someone will hire you-"_

_ "No, you don't understand, trust me no one will hire me," is all Alison says, pleading. _

_ "Are you a psychopath? Killer? Did you do time in jail?"_

_ "What? No!" Alison defends herself in horror._

_ "Cool, well, then, I'll hire you as long as you go out there and own the floor. Here are the rules. You are allowed to go up to people, you can touch them, do what you want- just don't do sexual acts for money or you will get fucked over."_

_ "I wouldn't," Alison quickly says. _

_ "Good, and remember, they can't touch you inappropriately, or really at all, but it's all circumstantial I guess. Like if a nice guy just has his hands on my thigh and doesn't move it I don't say anything."_

_ She sends Alison out and two hours later comes back to see the blonde timidly sitting on some guys lap. The innocent act works, but not that innocent. _

_ "Is that the new girl?" one of her bosses turns to her and says. _

_ "Yeah, that's the one that just came in today."_

_ "She looks stiff, like she's never had sex before," he says frowning._

_ "That's what I said," Cece smirks. "Don't worry I'll go help her out."_

_ With that she goes over, not wanting Alison to not get the job. There had been something so desperate about the way she had earnestly asked for the job. _

_ "Shit," she mumbles as she realizes she forgot to give Alison a name. _

_ "I see you met my friend," Cece says seductively and this guy looks like he just hit jackpot when he sees he has the attention of not one, but two hot blondes. Alison is sitting on one of his legs, and Cece slides onto the other, facing her. _

_ "This is-"_

_ "Vivian," Alison quips quickly and Cece scrunches her nose in distaste. What a not sexy name, she thinks._

_ "Vivian," Cece repeats with a smile. "Isn't her name unfortunate?"_

_ The man laughs at her as Cece wears her best flirty smile, and Ali scowls at her, in the cutest way, Cece thinks. _

_ "Vivian and I know all about having fun," she whispers to him. "Wanna watch?"_

_ He nods, like he's going to explode if they don't. _

_ The timid blonde looks startled. "We do-mmmf?" _

_ Alison is cut off by Cece pressing her lips on hers. When the blondes pull apart, the guy whistles lowly. "That was so hot, you two are something else."_

_ He gives them both tens, and Cece smiles politely as she hops off the man and drags Alison with her. _

_ "You have a lot to learn," she lectures Alison as she throws her lightly into the dressing room._

_ "I was that bad?" Alison asks looking hurt._

_ "At kissing, no, at seducing people, god that was like watching a trainwreck," Cece says shaking her head._

_ "I'll try harder," Alison pleads. "Please."_

_ Cece scrutinizes her and then sighs, giving in. "Fine."_

_ She watches Alison sigh in relief._

_ "Get out of here kid, come back tomorrow," Cece tells her kindly with a smile. Alison nods and starts to get dressed. _

_ When Cece walks out about half an hour later, she gets in her car, ready to go home. And then she sees that poor girl sitting at the bus stop and she shakes her head, getting out of the car._

_ "Look, it's not safe for you to wait out here, come with me," Cece orders, no room in her voice for argument. _

_ Wordlessly, Alison follows her. _

_ "Where are your parents? Can't they come pick you up or something?"_

_ "They don't care if I come home or not," Alison mumbles. Cece looks at her, knowing how that feels. _

_ "Then fuck it, don't go home. Let's go do something fun. Do you ever drink?"_

And that's how that friendship started. Cece shakes her head. It's been two or three years, and somehow they turned into bickering, inseparable sisters. The older blonde would never tell Alison this, but there are days she doesn't understand why she's alive- her existence has always baffled her, it feels like a long stretch of nothing. But when Alison and her have their days together, which have become far and few lately, Cece feels a reason to stay alive.

Alison is the first good thing she's ever been proud of- she knows that kid owes her a lot, but she owes that kid too. Ali ironically gave her happiness, even though the older blonde had to pull Alison out of her slump.

She never had any siblings growing up, but she imagines if she did she'd want them to be like Alison, minus the part where they makeout occasionally for fun.

It pleases her that Alison has found someone so kind to fall in love with, she really is happy for the blonde. But there's a twinge of jealousy she suppresses- or maybe it's loneliness. Probably loneliness. Still, Alison is her only friend and family- she'll do anything for her, including support her clearly healthy and positive new relationship. Plus, despite Emily's boring appeal to Cece- she thinks that girl is gorgeous and is proud of Alison for landing such a catch.

Neither Cece or Emily get a wink of sleep that night, because as much as Cece won't admit it, the thought of Wilden coming that close to Alison unnerves her.

In the morning, she convinces Emily to come with her to grab coffee downstairs. They talk about mundane life topics that Cece couldn't give two shits about. She could never date Emily, too timid for her taste.

She leans in the doorway, talking to Emily who stands outside. When she hears coughing from the inside, she turns around to see her best friend looking sick.

"Shit," she had mumbled. She couldn't deal with puke, she'd let the girlfriend deal with that one. "Emily she's awake, and she's gonna hurl."

Cece listens to their mushy gushy "I love you's" in amusement, truly happy that Alison is happy.

x-x-x

"Ali?" Cece calls out impatiently. "You know how I hate waiting!"

But there's no answer as she stands in the tiny dressing room, huffing in annoyance as she throws her clothes back on and goes to find the blonde.

"Ali, I'm going to kill you," she mumbles, picturing the blonde standing out there lost in her thoughts texting Emily.

But to her annoyance, the blonde isn't out in the store either.

"Excuse me," she stops the nearest store associate. "Did you see my sister? Shorter than me, curly blonde hair, really blue eyes, she was wearing jeans-"

"Yeah, she walked out with her boyfriend," the lady quips while folding clothes.

Cece frowns in confusion. "Wait I'm sorry, that can't be her, my sister is dating a girl," she spits out without thinking. She doesn't notice her use of the word sister, sometimes it just comes naturally. It's not the first time it's happened when she's alone and talking about Alison.

"That is definitely the only girl that was in here that resembles the one you described. She was holding this tall guy's hand," the lady shrugged.

Cece's heart stops.

"Did he look pretty muscular? Hard jaw line?"

"Yes…" the lady responds while looking strangely at Cece who just runs out of there. She looks around, not knowing where to go.

"Fuck," she had cursed and felt tears building. She doesn't want to call Emily, doesn't want to face her- she feels responsible. If she hadn't forced Alison to go to the mall…

"Fuck!" she yells as she gets to her car and kicks the tire angrily. She runs a hand through her hair frustrated, not knowing what to do. She has to tell Emily.

And when she gets the brunette's apartment and breaks the news, she's shocked by her violent outburst, suddenly afraid of what Emily will do.

So she convinces Emily to call Spencer and to hold on, because everything will be alright, she tells herself.

Cece has never been scared speechless, but tonight is the first time.

x-x-x

She watches the girls work together, all of them supporting Emily. Her heart stings, wishing Alison was here. Her best and _only_ friend. But also the only support she knows she has.

When Emily recruits Spencer to go with her to the house, Cece almost wants to insist upon going too. But something tells her Alison's not there, so she stays back, instead encouraging Emily to drink her soup. She knows that when Alison comes back, she'll scold Cece for letting her girlfriend run around without eating.

They must all think she's a cold hearted bitch- especially Emily's sassy friend Hanna. Because Cece doesn't show weakness, she merely hides it. She hides it better than Ali does because she taught that girl how to live like that.

But her world inside is crumbling- she'll do anything to save Alison.

x-x-x

When Cece hears that scream, she almost pushes past Spencer too when Emily does, but her heart is pounding with fear upon what she'll find when she goes down there. She doesn't know how she'll continue living if Alison is dead- and she knows she probably would't. She would wither away, truly fucking done with life.

She sees Alison and her heart almost breaks yet she breathes a huge sigh of relief at the sight of her, alive and well.

She runs over to her and tries to help her but Alison is in a state of panic, as Cece recoils, shocked, as her younger friend shrieks and jerks violently, trying to get away.

"Ali it's me," Cece tells her urgently. "It's me Cece."

The blonde looks at her through thick tears and stares, as if trying to come to her senses while her mouth quivers.

"It's me," Cece reiterates. "I love you."

(It might be the second time Cece has ever said that to her, the first being at least two years ago)

Out of the corner of her eye she sees Spencer come kneel down behind her, and she also sees the tan brunette fighting with Wilden. She's not worried for the moment, she knows Emily has a knife.

But Alison is just sobbing incoherent words as she shakes her head. Cece sees her wrists rubbing raw and she reaches out to the girl, trying to get her to calm down and stop tugging at her restraints. She lets her hand rub Alisons' arm comfortingly.

"Ali stop moving, you're only going to hurt yourself," she says softly, and this is the most affection she's ever shown Alison as she gets closer, despite the blonde's violent shaking, and hugs her, kissing her head. "I'm here okay? We're here. Emily's here."

"Emily…" Alison murmurs through little cries, panic growing again.

"Shit!" Spencer hisses as she sees Emily get knocked to the ground and pulls out her hidden gun, carefully. Cece whips her head to see Wilen get up with a huff of anger and grab a small knife of the table. She sees Emily's knife out on the floor a distance away.

"Emily watch out!" Cece yells with Spencer as Wilden lunges at her and the brunette rolls away just in the nick of time.

But he grabs on to her arm and pulls her towards him, struggling.

"Emily," Alison cries softly as she watches, as if the truth hasn't hit her yet. Cece watches as Wilden gains the upper hand.

"Emily!" Alison screams out in sheer terror and as Cece looks at her face, she knows she has to do something. Because she couldn't live with the guilt if she doesn't. Alison gave her a reason to hold on for so long, much longer than she would have held on without her. So she'll do the same.

With great effort, Cece forces herself to spring towards the two fighting, as Wilden raises his knife. She knocks him over and lands on the brunette with a hiss, realizing she just knocked the air out of Emily.

And then there's a sharp pain in her back, and she screams out, because nothing before has hurt as bad as this. Cece Drake knows it's over, in this moment she knows it's the end. And she's okay with it, she really is- she just hopes that Alison will survive. Because if she doesn't, this will all be for nothing. And that's the last thing she thinks, before her world goes black.


	17. Chapter 17

**Sorry that took so long to update. I'll try to be a bit faster again. Been super overwhelmed lately, I need a break :/ just not from writing. Also, kayweston is amazing because she helped me work out this chapter. **

x-x-x

"If you'd like, Emily can wait outside-"

"No."

Alison grabs tighter onto Emily's wrist with a death grip, her knuckles turning white from how hard she's squeezing and she's pretty sure she's cutting off blood circulation in Emily's hand.

She looks at the police officer in front of her with challenging eyes, daring him to take her away from her girlfriend.

"Alright," he says looking at his partner for confirmation. "We need an exact count of what happened to process this case. Spencer Hastings claimed she murdered Darren Wilden under self defense, and we need the initial victim's testimony."

Emily gives a worried glance to the blonde, knowing this may be a little too soon for her to talk about it. Alison looks down conveniently at the ground as she avoids eye contact with anyone in the room.

"He deserved to die," Alison mutters bitterly, her emotions slowly slipping away.

"According to official reports, when the police arrived, you were cuffed to a pole in the at the back of the room. How did you end up there?"

"He asked me to come with him at the mall," she says blankly. "He threatened to hurt my girlfriend."

Emily had figured this much.

"So he pressured you into following him?"

"He said he just wanted to talk," Alison continues dryly. Her eyes narrow and her mouth parts to speak again but stops as her throat constricts, the room suddenly feeling smaller and smaller. She doesn't want to revisit this- she's been revisiting it every time her mind goes to sleep.

"Ali," Emily whispers in her ear almost inaudibly. "Breathe."

Alison feels her girlfriend's hand lower gently onto her thigh to rub it slowly. So she swallows thickly.

"He told me he'd make me wish I was dead. I tried to run, he slammed my head down on his car," Alison speaks slowly, every word deliberate.

As the blonde continues to recount the story, Emily feels her insides twisting with every sick detail. She watches as Alison puts herself in such a lifeless state in order to revisit the memory without feeling trapped. Emily can see it in the way her eyes have dulled and the way her voice is flat.

When Alison gets to the part about the knife, she watches as her girlfriend's suddenly dead eyes flicker to the ceiling, and she bluntly describe the way Wilden cut her open. It pains her the most when Alison describes the way he shoved the gun in her mouth.

It's obvious even the officers are extremely uncomfortable. Emily notes that the blonde's grip has weakened incredibly, and it's as if the life has left her body, like her mind has gone to a dark place she can't afford to visit.

"He held my nose until I couldn't breathe, and then I opened my mouth and he shoved the gun inside and he pulled the trigger. He started laughing, because it wasn't loaded," she says stoically.

Emily doesn't know _how_ to process what she's just heard. Every little detail makes her sick to her stomach.

When she's finished, the officers dismiss them kindly with troubled looks and exit, allowing the girls to leave at their own pace. It's silent as Emily stands up and grabs her coat, Alison's eyes watching her intently.

"Now you know."

The brunette whips around to see Alison's baby blue eyes finally regaining emotion, as if she's returning to her body with life once more.

Emily nods slowly, shrugging her coat on and walking over and kneeling in front of Ali.

"I'm sorry you had to tell me like that," Emily tells her quietly as she holds her tiny hands.

"I thought I was going to die," Alison croaks out hoarsely. "He pulled the trigger and I thought I was dead."

"I can't even imagine what you went through, Ali. But I'm here for you now, I swear," Emily earnestly whispers. She watches the blonde painfully nod and she leans up to hug her. It's almost frightening how tightly Alison clings to her, like if she lets go Emily will vanish.

"Are you ready to go?" Emily asks softly and receives a whimper in return. She tries to pull back and look at Alison but lets out a strangled noise as Alison hugs her tighter fiercely, refusing to let go.

x-x-x

Later, Emily climbs the stairs to the top of her apartment building and goes out on to the roof in the chilly evening. It's deserted except for her girlfriend perched on the edge, her back against the wall and head turned out towards the city with her legs outstretched.

It's beautiful, the sunset and the skyline, but Emily has a feeling Alison isn't admiring the view.

"I brought you a jacket," the brunette announces softly and Alison turns to look at her, her pale cheeks rosy from the cold. There's a faint trace of vibrant life back in her eyes, and Emily will take it because it means progress towards healing.

"You didn't have to," the blonde replies slightly apologetic and Emily just gives her a look as she sees the goose bumps on Ali's arms.

"I had to be alone for a bit," Ali continues, looking away after she takes the jacket.

"I know, I realized I did too," Emily admits, hopping up on the opposite end of the ledge.

"Were the girls offended?"

"Not at all."

They had been sitting around watching Netflix, trying to be normal after the police station, and Alison had jumped up and mumbled something about 'rooftop' and 'don't follow right now' to Emily before she grabbed her house keys and left.

The brunette had sat there for a few moments, and the other three awkwardly looked at her before she excused herself to her bedroom until Alison had texted her to come up.

There's an awkward silence between them and they lock eyes.

"We should talk about it." "We need to talk at some point."

Both girls speak at the same time, forcing smiles nervously but neither starting the conversation.

Alison shakes her head after more silence and sighs. "I'm not ready to yet. I didn't tell you everything I felt."

Emily nods, understanding, because she doesn't know how to express what she's feeling either.

"I'm angry at Cece."

Emily whips her head to look at the blonde who is fidgeting with her hands. That wasn't what she was expecting to hear.

"I don't know why," Alison mumbles as she looks down. "If she hadn't stopped him, you wouldn't be sitting here- she would."

"I know," Emily murmurs as she feels guilt twisting her insides, survivor's guilt. In that moment, it was either her or Cece going down.

"But I'm angry- angry that she dragged me shopping. Angry that she decided to go with you. Angry that she helped you find me."

Emily wants to interject, but she knows not to when Alison is like this.

"I'm pissed that you all found me."

She doesn't continue, so Emily dares to speak.

"If we hadn't, we would never have been able to live with ourselves-"

"Can you live with yourself? I feel like I can't," Alison says but she isn't accusatory, just honestly pained.

"I'm trying to, for you," Emily admits, as she looks straight at her.

"You do too much for me," Alison mumbles. "I don't deserve any of it."

Emily is too tired to think, so she hops off the ledge shaking her head and tries to clear her head to come up with a solid argument.

"Where are you going?" she sees Alison's startled face crumbling, as if she'll start crying any moment. The blonde scrambles to her feet, and Emily goes over to help her before she accidentally panics and falls off.

"I was just standing up to stretch," she tells Ali, gently extending her hand. She hesitates before she speaks again. "You deserve more than what I could ever give you."

"That's not true," the blonde shakes her head and hops off the ledge and squeals as Emily catches her in her arms. She wraps her legs around the brunette instantly, never tiring of being close to her body. "I'm so lucky to have you."

x-x-x

"Go into the bedroom, I'll be there in a second," Emily gently coaxes Alison who stares at her with vulnerable blue eyes, hesitating to leave the brunette's side. "It'll just be a minute. I promise."

The blonde takes a deep breath and nods, slowly turning to retreat into their room, but she doesn't shut the door.

Emily decided on the way back down form the roof that her and Alison needed to spend the night alone- they were both clearly still shaken, but they were undoubtedly safe for now. She turns to her friends who are paying very close attention to her.

"Do you guys mind if, you know, we could be alone tonight?"

A chorus of 'no's' and 'of course nots' resound quietly from her friends and she smiles at them graciously.

She hugs all of them and walks them to the door. Spencer lingers and doesn't leave, looking at Emily carefully.

"Em, I just want to make sure you don't blame yourself," she says quietly. "Guilt is a tricky thing. None of this was any of our faults, not mine, yours, Cece's, or Ali's. It was Wilden's. You just have to remember that."

The brunette locks her jaw and nods at her wise friend, choosing to just listen. When she shuts the door, she sighs and leans her head against it. Without them around, it's a little easier to breathe, but the guilt and heavy thoughts settle in much faster.

She turns around and lets out a small startled gasp as she sees her girlfriend standing inches behind her, fidgeting with her hands nervously.

"Ali you scared me," Emily says as she catches her breath and leans against the door.

"Sorry," she mumbles sheepishly. "I couldn't hear you out here for a second and it was more than a minute so I-"

"It's okay," Emily cuts her off knowing the blonde is still just terribly nervous. "It's not a big deal."

"Did they leave?"

"I told them to for tonight," Emily explains. "I just wanted to be alone with you."

Alison nods and it's not long before the two go to bed, exhausted. Alison falls asleep first, curled up in a ball on her side of the bed, while Emily sits up reading a book, unable to sleep for a while. When she feels herself dozing off, she turns the light off.

x-x-x

Somewhere between midnight and early dawn, Emily wakes up to a sharp kick, jolting her awake, and a bloodcurling _scream. _She's immediately alarmed- like an animal protecting her loved ones she's ready to attack.

But she realizes quickly it's Alison who screamed and is whimpering next to her, probably having a nightmare. She props herself up on her elbow and leans over to hug her, trying to wake her up ever so gently.

"Ali, wake up. It's just a dream," Emily tells her in a hushed voice as she shakes her gently until her eyes shoot open, her breathing rugged and rapid.

Ali makes a little noise of discomfort, moves abruptly and almost falls from the bed but Emily grabs her, holding onto her and keeping her safe.

"Shh, it's okay," Emily whispers and caresses the blonde's cheek, trying to soothe her into normal breathing. They stay like this for a minute or two.

"Please turn on the light," the blonde eventually begs in a small, tiny voice, her hands clutching onto Emily's shirt.

Emily obeys, and she can feel Alison's body shaking still as she leans backwards to turn the lamp on. When she turns back, she sees unspoken terror flickering in these blue orbs.

"Ali –"

"No, please Em, come here." Her voice is strained and almost desperate.

And Emily understands it's not the time for talking. She comes as close as possible, and she feels Alison's uneven breathing as she kisses her cheek, holding her girl's face tenderly.

Alison turns her head so that their lips connect, and they kiss, surprising the brunette. At first she doesn't respond, but Alison kisses her harder, as if she _needs_ this. And Emily is never one to deny the blonde what she needs.

It's slow and painful and desperate, but at the same time so different to any kiss they have shared before, and as their tongues touch they both whimper at the sensation. It's Ali who breaks the kiss, but only to take her clothes off, and Emily watches as the blonde sits up and pulls her shirt off, leaving her torso bare.

Something still feels so wrong about this. Emily feels as if she's taking advantage of Alison's vulnerability and emotional volatility as warmth pools at her core while she watches Alison squirm out of her shorts.

"I…" Emily's voice is lost as Alison falls back, her blonde hair splaying out on the pillow behind her and she looks like a fallen angel, lying there, bare. It blows Emily's mind that even after everything, Alison is still all only _hers_. As her eyes roam up and down the bruised, injured girl, she feels her stomach clench and protective instincts come over her.

"I can't," Emily whispers hoarsely and she watches Alison's eyebrows furrow.

"Emily," she says firmly in a quiet voice. There's a sudden warmth to it that Emily has craved, she's missed the friendly tone. Her ears perk up and she lies on her side, listening. "You're still my sweet Emmy. I'm so happy you're alive. Do you understand that?"

Emily can't speak, can't find the words to tell Alison how inadequate she feels, how scarred this whole thing has left her- she feels wrong to even be upset, when Alison has gone through hell and back.

She yelps quietly as Alison tugs her down on top of her and holds her face with one hand, forcing Emily to look at her. "You have to understand that. You are my safety, and I need you here. I need this. _Please_."

Emily still looks at her with questioning eyes and Alison pulls her head down so their lips can meet again, softly moving against each other with building need. "You are the only person that makes me feel protected."

That's all it takes for Emily to take over, shifting her weight properly on top of Alison and bringing her hand up to hold her face while kissing her back, with all the love she can pour.

"Are you going to take your clothes off?" Alison breathes as they break for air, and Emily nods furiously and makes a move to but the blonde stops her. "Never mind. I trust you."

Those words mean everything to Emily- Alison trusts her to be fully vulnerable, completely naked in front of her after everything that's happened.

And so Ali grips onto her tighter, her nails digging into Emily's back as she kisses her harder, rocking her hips against Emily's bare thigh.

She feels the blonde grab her hand and run it down her frail body. Ali's hand leads hers, and she realizes that the destination is the wound on Ali's thigh. And they look at each other, immersing in each other's gaze. It's not lust and domination, it's comfort and tenderness that they share. Emily's breath hitches as her fingers run over the deep gash, and she hears Alison release little gasps.

"If it hurts-"

"It doesn't," Alison cuts her off. "Not when it's you."

Emily's hand stills, and the blonde becomes frustrated quickly. "Please, please just make me forget right now."

"Okay," she gives in and drags her lips down the blonde's neck, to her chest. She's very careful, very gentle and delicate. Her lips reverently kiss their way down to her breast and when they enclose around Ali's nipple, she hears the blonde gasp and release a strangled moan. Ali feels her warm tongue flick back and forth and she arches her back up into Emily, tangling her hands in the long brown hair.

"Like that," she manages to comment as she mewls and feels Emily bring her hand up to her center, brushing her finger tips through her folds and Alison drops her head back with a whimper.

Emily continues to touch her gently, Alison not minding in the least, simply happy her girl is treating her so respectfully, so lovingly. It'll be a while before Alison can handle the rough sex she used to crave- but for now, this is better than anything she's ever felt.

The brunette's actions pick up speed and urgency, and soon Alison's sex is dripping, with Emily's fingers pumping in and out and her mouth swallowing Alison's moans as she kisses her. When she comes, she's quiet for the first time, and lies breathing heavily afterwards.

"Alison?" Emily's voice is still heavy with emotion as she calls through the quiet.

"Yes darling?" Alison whispers in return, her voice airy and her high putting her in a temporary state of bliss.

"I just…it…is this right?"

"I'm not going to abstain from sex until everything blows over, I couldn't not be with you that long," she says gently. "Besides who knows how long that could be?"

Emily opens her mouth but Alison cuts her off again. "It will happen, we will move past this- but I'm not waiting til then to be with you. And besides, I really needed that."

A look of panic crosses her face for a moment. "Did you not enjoy that?"

"I did, I did," Emily reassures her quickly. "God this is so awkward I'm sorry."

"You're just looking out for me Em, it's okay," Alison says appreciatively. "I love you."

"I love you too, so much," Emily replies honestly. She leans down and presses feather light kisses to Alison's side where the bruise is. She feels the blonde wince but stroke her skin gently, encouraging her.

"I love that feeling, your lips on my skin," Alison breathes out as she closes her eyes. When Emily goes down to her thigh and kisses around the gash, Alison feels herself melt under her fluttering kisses.

"Do you want me to touch you too?" Alison asks sincerely as she pulls Emily up to her so they're eye level.

"You don't have to-" Emily releases a quiet moan as she feels Alison's hands slip up her shirt, and over her breasts.

"Stop this," Alison slightly orders. "You're my girlfriend. I _always_ want to touch you."

"I think I'm a little emotionally drained tonight," Emily admits sheepishly though her eyes flutter as Alison gently plays with her breasts.

"I owe you then," Alison kisses her again, slowly and lazily. "I owe you everything Emily."

Her fingers inch their way up and pull Emily's shirt off, as the brunette shudders from the rush of cold air.

"Most beautiful, noble, loving girl in the whole world," Alison marvels, her eyes drinking in Emily's naked form, save her panties.

Emily feels a pang of guilt at the word noble, because if anyone deserves that title right now it's _Cece_.

"Stay with me," Alison says gently, watching Emily. "You don't have to be strong all the time for both of us, Em. But don't let your mind wander to bad places, shutting me out. I know you, I can see you do it."

"I'm going to be a mess most days honestly," Alison admits slowly, forcing herself to keep eye contact with Emily. "But you need to know the truth. Cece died because she believed in you, believed in us. I keep telling myself she wouldn't have done it if she didn't. She'd want us to believe in us too."

"I do."

"Good," Alison smiles softly. "Then we'll be okay."

The blonde pushes Emily on her back and curls up in her usual position on Emily's side, burying her face in her girlfriend's shoulder, inhaling deeply, finally relaxing. There's no where else she'd rather be.

x-x

**A/N: **Thanks again for reading and all your kind reviews. Quick question, if you'd like to review and leave me the answer, how many of you guys use tumblr? I'm thinking of making a tumblr for my writing in general, but I'm not sure how many people actually use it.

Also don't kill me but I started yet another story. I've been losing inspiration. But I'm also halfway through the next chapter of Feel Good Drag, and Uneasy Hearts Weigh the Most. So if anyone has any advice or wants to talk about stories, please let me know haha I need steam right now I'm losing energy.

Anyway, feel free to review as always, it makes my day reading your thoughts xx


	18. Chapter 18

"Holy shit," Emily mumbles as she wakes with a start to yet _another_ shriek. She's not counting, but she would guess it'd be the sixth time this week that she's woken up to Alison screaming out in fear at night. And it is only Tuesday.

They had taken Cece's ashes over the weekend and spread them over the ocean in Jersey, and the girls had attempted to go back to their lives this week. Not that Cece's memorial was to be overlooked, because it most definitely wasn't, but Emily was having a hard time focusing on anything. She could feel herself slipping slowly into a very dangerous state of mind. The brunette has a tendency to bottle things up and let them build until she explodes- and she has a bad feeling that if that occurs this time, she's not going to be able to recover so quickly.

But she wants to be strong for the blonde lying next to her who looks so paralyzed, even in her sleep.

"Please…no, please," she hears Alison whimper in her sleep and she can literally feel her heart twisting as the girl's face scrunches in pure fear. Her night terrors have only gotten worse, and Emily is quickly realizing neither of them are going to be getting much sleep any time soon.

"Ali," she whispers with a heavy sigh and shakes her girlfriend, albeit a little too harshly. "Ali wake up."

The blonde's eyes shoot open and unshed tears are swirling in her blue eyes that always cause Emily's body to go weak in one way or another.

"Em…oh," she realizes as she leans up on her arm, rubs her face, and hangs her head downwards sadly. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry-"

"It's fine," Emily brushes it off as she sinks back down into the bed.

But it's _not_ fine. Nothing is fine. She doesn't know how to pretend that some mad man didn't just come sweeping into their lives and ruin everything. She doesn't know how to pretend that someone didn't _die _for her. _FOR _her. Nothing in life could have prepared her for this.

While trapped in her thoughts, she vaguely hears faint crying and it takes her a moment to realize Alison is curled up in a little ball, head buried in her arm, crying.

"Babe why are you crying?" Emily asks, suddenly in protective mode. Both their emotions and moods are all over the place lately.

"I can feel it, you're getting tired of me," Alison blurts out through little sniffles and cries, her body folding inwards tightly. "I'm a fucking trainwreck and you feel stuck with me."

"No," Emily says in horror as she sits up quickly. "That's not it at all Ali."

"Don't lie to me," Alison spits out bitterly as she rubs at her red eyes, tired of crying- she's just so fucking tired.

"Listen to me," Emily says firmly as she grabs Alison's arm and moves it so she can't hide behind it. "I love you. I'm not _leaving_. I just don't know…don't know how to act."

"It's all my fault," Ali starts to cry again, and Emily knows she's hysterical, she always is after these dreams- no, nightmares. And she sighs as she leans over and pulls Alison down on top of her, fiercely holding her against her chest until the blonde cries herself back to sleep. This is no way to live, Emily knows, because she's not going to be able to function tomorrow- and the lack of sleep will put her on edge, and if she continually gets no sleep she's going to explode on Alison- and that could ruin everything.

What Alison (and she) need to do is get professional help, but Emily thinks she'll save that for another morning.

x-x-x

On Thursday morning, Alison sits cross legged on the bed at eight am, watching Emily brush her teeth in the bathroom.

"Why are you up?" Emily asks after she spits and starts to rinse.

"I couldn't sleep," Ali releases a deep sigh and drops her head, playing with the sheets.

"You should try to rest, you haven't slept much lately," Emily tries but Alison cuts her off with a pointed look.

"Neither have you."

The brunette sighs, knowing the blonde's stubborn edge.

"Can I…" Alison's voice trails off at the end. Emily quirks her eyebrow at her as she continues to get dressed. "Can I come to class with you?"

When Emily opens her mouth but doesn't answer right away, Alison quickly clarifies.

"Not like, _in_ to the class, can I just wait outside on campus or something? I don't like being alone in here," she mumbles, a red tint coming to her cheeks as she feels embarrassed showing her weak side.

"Yeah, yeah of course," Emily nods. "But aren't you going to be bored?"

"I went and got a few books yesterday," Alison says sheepishly.

"I have class in thirty, can you be ready in five?"

"Presentable, or ready?" Alison asks with a faint smile and she watches as Emily's lips curve upwards into a small smile.

"You're always beautiful," the brunette reminds her and Alison just smiles softly as she gets up and starts to get ready.

x-x-x

Alison sits on the chair in the lobby of the school, curled up with a warm sweater and a book in her hand. She's re-reading Great Expectations, and she must say she loves it as much as she did in high school.

"What are you doing here?"

The blonde hears a tense voice attempting to be friendly and she looks up to see none other than Paige. Her heart starts to pound wildly, and her veins freeze. Even though she stood up to her and almost beat her, Alison is certainly in no state of offense right now. And Paige is the enemy- Paige outed her to Emily's parents right in front of her. Paige had no problem abusing Emily, someone she 'loved'. Alison isn't sure how to even approach her.

"I'm waiting," she manages to get out without tripping over her words.

"For Emily?"

Alison just nods, closing her book and staring Paige down with steely eyes.

"I was going to too, but I can leave," Paige admits with a humbled glance.

Without another word, she turns and leaves, and Alison can't help but wonder what Paige wanted to see Emily for. She had been so respectful it confused Alison.

Before Alison realizes, Emily's class is over. She watches as students seem to emerge from classes all around, and she watches as she sees Emily walk down the corridor with- who the hell is that?

She sees Emily walking side be side with a tall pretty blonde girl, who is gazing at Emily a little too long for her liking. Her stomach twists as she watches the blonde girl put a hand on Emily's arm as she laughs, the two of them clearly friendly. Before they make it to Alison, the blonde girl hugs Emily and Alison almost growls out loud when she watches the girl linger a little too long as she holds her beautiful brunette. Alison knows that look, knows the body language she sees- the girl clearly wants Emily. They part, and Emily continues to walk over to Alison.

Emily sees her girlfriend waiting for her patiently, and she momentarily forgets all their problems as she looks at the gorgeous girl curled up on the chair.

"Who was that?"

Alison's less-than-pleased voice brings her out of her thoughts.

"Who?" Alison just raises an eyebrow and Emily realizes.

"Oh, Samara? She's just an old friend, we knew each other freshman year, and she's in my class this semester."

"Just an old friend?"

"Yes," Emily says with narrow eyes, suddenly confused. "We're just friends. Why?"

"Emily that girl clearly wants you," Alison shakes her head. Is her girlfriend really that oblivious to everything?

"Samara is straight," Emily insists and Alison snorts.

"Straight girls don't act like that, trust me," Alison retorts and stands up turning to walk towards the exit, to their car.

"Hey, wait, are you mad at me?!" Emily asks incredulously as she catches up to her brooding girl.

"No," Alison simply says as she slows down, her shoulders heaving.

"Sure doesn't seem like you're not," Emily accuses.

"Well I'm not, so drop it," Alison gets defensive.

"No, you can't just push me out like that," Emily quips.

Alison is about to respond when she sees the blonde behind Emily, walking over.

"I don't think she's finished for today," Alison says dryly and Emily spins around to see Samara walking over.

"Samara," she says surprised.

"Hey, sorry, I just wanted to ask you if you wanted to meet up and study for the test on Monday, maybe sometime this weekend?"

"Sure," Emily says uncomfortably and she can practically feel Alison's eyes glaring daggers.

"And maybe we can do something fun after," Samara says suggestively and suddenly Emily's unsure how she never got these vibes before. "You seem stressed lately."

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Emily shifts awkwardly and Samara frowns.

"Why not?"

"Because, I would be pissed," Alison says stepping forward, anger subtly written across her face.

"Samara this is my girlfriend," Emily speaks up trying to diffuse the situation.

"Oh," Samara replies, completely caught off guard. "I see. Well it was nice to meet you."

She takes off without another word, scurrying like a mouse and Alison frowns deeper than before.

"Why didn't you tell her you had a girlfriend?"

"I don't talk to her much, I never had a reason to," Emily argues. "Was that necessary?"

"Do you not want people to know about me?" Alison asks, growing frustrated.

"I do," Emily is growing more and more frustrated. "Of course I do."

"You didn't seem too thrilled to tell her-"

"That was an awkward situation, Ali!" Emily protests.

Alison can't explain that she feels like a burden, that she feels as if she's weighing Emily down. Seeing Emily laughing with Samara, behaving like how she should be- happy and carefree- scares Alison, because her world is dark and depressing and a vortex that seems to be sucking Emily in.

"Maybe we can't do this," Alison shakes her head, all her thoughts weighing her down and her heart beating out of her chest. She feels tears pricking and goddamn it she can't cry _again_.

"Can't do what?" A cold sheet of sweat suddenly breaks out on Emily.

"This," Alison says with a huff as she points between them. She's not thinking straight, she knows, but all her thoughts are racing with negativity and she's losing her mind- she knows it's irrational, but she feels like she's going to drive Emily away one way or another.

"No, we can," Emily insists and Alison shakes her head. Emily stares at her in disbelief. "Are you breaking up with me?"

Alison opens her mouth to protest, but nothing comes out.

"Forget it," Emily starts to tremble.

"I am," Alison says in a ghost like voice as she stares off, a haunted look crossing her face.

"You're not," Emily shakes her head refusing to believe it.

"We can't do this anymore Emily!" Alison snaps, irrationally and without any sense. "I'm ending this before either one of us gets hurt."

And with that, the blonde turns and walks away, not really knowing a destination, but she keeps on walking- and Emily just stands there, shocked, unsure of everything. And completely alone.

x-x-x

A/N: I'm so sorry these updates are coming so slowly. I made the tumblr! It's alywriteslove . In case anyone cares :p

I'm trying to reply asap to all the reviews! My life has just been so swamped lately, can't handle it. But I loved all of the reviews, I'm so flattered by everyone who loves reading my stories- I'd love to show you guys stuff I wrote in a very John Green type of way. Anywho, here you go lovelies :3 much love. Hit me up on tumblr or something xx


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: **Hi! I am so, so, _so_ sorry for the wait- and I hope you won't be too disappointed by this long-awaited chapter. Life just got insane for a bit, and it was hard to focus on this story. I think I've also decided that after this chapter, there will be a sort of time jump to the future in the following chapters- about a year or so later on, and so you could see this as the end of Part One of this story. Part two hopefully involves Alison's family (especially Courtney), the post-college life, and the continuing aftermath and struggle.

I hope you guys stick around to keep reading, because I genuinely enjoy reading all of your reactions and reviews and thoughts. Even when I wasn't posting, continuing to read the reviews and kind words that kept coming really helped me pull through this last semester. I'll do my best to update at least once a week from now on!

In other good news, I may be up for consideration for a full-time job at one of the biggest literary/talent agencies, and I just wanted to share with you guys cause nobody knows how much I love writing like you guys do. I keep saying I'm working on replying to all your reviews, and I truly am. Thanks for all your support and for reading, it is sincerely appreciated. xoxo

**x-x-x**

Rain pours down fast and hard, and Alison sits curled up in a ball, shivering, on a covered bus bench. Her teeth chatter as a strong shiver rips through her body and her drenched skin sends chills down her spine as a gust of cold air hits her. She's too proud to go back to Emily, and too miserable to want to. She believes she deserves this, believes that this is her punishment for bringing a world of trouble into her sweet brunette's life.

But meanwhile, Emily sits on her couch, crying. She knows she's being overly frantic and panicked, but she can't help it. Alison has darted off before, when they first met, but she's not sure that after everything that's happened Alison is rational enough to come back either.

"She will come back," a sweet voice says as petite hands rub her back comfortingly.

"What if she doesn't?" Emily chokes out shaking her head and feels the hand on her back slip a little too far down for comfort.

"Then you deserve so much more than her."

_Samara_ looks at Emily kindly, her eyes sparkling with comfort but Emily feels even more panicked than before. She thought she had made her feelings clear back at school and this is _not _what she wants to have to deal with right now. In fact, the thought of anyone but Alison touching her makes her feel nervously uncomfortable.

"No, no Alison is the only girl I need," Emily struggles to say through sniffles as she pulls away slightly, trying to put some distance between her and the obviously persistent blonde.

Samara had found Emily still at school an hour later after Alison had darted, and the brunette had been an absolute mess. Emily hadn't really had much of a choice when Samara apologized for earlier and offered to listen and be a shoulder to cry on. The brunette sincerely thought that her old friend just wanted to help.

Regardless, Emily is going out of her mind- the thought of Alison just disappearing like this, forever, is her own personal nightmare, and she just wants to wake up. She knows her girlfriend is just overwhelmed and confused, but a part of her is worried that Alison has fully convinced herself to never come back. And that just can't happen.

"I understand you feel that way right now," Samara tries to start but Emily cuts her off.

"You don't understand," Emily interrupts her, not wanting to hear whatever persuasive argument the blonde has against her feelings for her angel. But Samara frowns and leans closer, her hand still on Emily's back and her other landing on Emily's knee.

"I'm trying to Emily-"

"What's going on here?"

There's another voice from the doorway and the two whip around to see Hanna standing there with her hand on her hip and a quizzical look on her face in true Hanna Marin fashion.

"Hi, I'm Samara," the blonde quickly stands up and offers a smile to Hanna who forces a poor one in return.

"Hanna," she says quickly before she turns her attention to Emily. "So where did my favorite little skank run off to?"

"I don't know," Emily chokes out as she gets up and runs over to Hanna, hugging her tightly and the spunky blonde is caught off guard by how worked up her friend is. Hanna eyes Samara wearily, willing her to leave. She doesn't like the vibes this stranger is giving off as she awkwardly stares at the two friends hugging.

"I think this is my cue to go," Samara says as she grabs her stuff and shakes her head.

"Peace," Hanna says uninterested and Samara huffs as she exits with mumbles about how lame this is.

"Calm down babe," Hanna tries again as she pulls away from Emily to go grab her a glass of water. "Don't worry, Alison is so in love with you. She'll come crawling back."

"You didn't see her," Emily insists. "She looked so broken. Like she _really _thought leaving me was going to _help_ me because she feels like a burden. But after Darren made her feel like absolutely nothing, what if she...what if she really believes it and won't come back?"

"Poor thing," Hanna frowns. "Let's be efficient about this then. Give me her phone number."

"What, why?"

"Who do you think she's going to listen to? You, who she already didn't listen to, or me, who's gonna kick her ass five ways to hell unless she comes back here? No offense. She's just being irrational, and I'm going to whip some sense back into her."

Emily gives in and lets the blonde have the number. Hanna dials and sits patiently. The brunette watches as her friend's face breaks into a smirk when her girlfriend picks up on the other end.

"It's Hanna Marin and don't you dare hang up or else."

x-x-x

Alison sees headlights flash at her and she scrambles upwards like a frightened animal as she tries to shield her eyes from the bright light. Her head is dizzy and her vision is blurry- her body is dehydrated from all the crying she's been doing. There's a currently half empty bottle of Malibu rum in her bag that isn't helping her dehydration.

"Hey," a deep voice grunts out as those bright lights continue to shine at her as she sits on the bench. "Do you need a ride?"

"No," she croaks out hoarsely, standing up to back away when she sees a gruff looking man get out of the car and approach her.

"You shouldn't be out here alone," he says in what she perceives to be a menacing voice.

"She's not!"

Alison feels a hand on her shoulder from behind her and backs up, startled, into a warm body. She turns her head and sees Hanna with a soft smile.

"So you can keep going, cause she's with me," Hanna throws back in a biting manner.

The man rolls his eyes and Alison wastes no time in turning around to hug the other blonde, burying her face in her neck, the rain hitting both of them but neither of them caring. Even snarky Hanna knows when to keep her mouth shut, and this is one of those moments. She can feel the weight of depression on Alison's shoulders and lets the tinier blonde grip onto her and wipe her tears on her shoulder.

It's the first time she's even subtly let somebody else in after Cece's death, and she's got to admit that it feels like a giant relief to trust someone other than Emily.

"Now, how do I have to convince you to come back with me?" Hanna teases gently as she rubs Alison's back comfortingly, noting the way the blonde's shoulders sag.

"I can't," Alison says as she pulls back and looks at Hanna innocently with troubled eyes and Hanna can smell alcohol instantly.

"Have you been drinking?" she asks sharply, not wanting the girl to turn into a disturbed alcoholic. She's also not sure when she became everyone's temporary therapist, but she's okay with it if it means helping her best friend who held her throughout her own parent's divorce.

"I can't face Emily right now," Alison evades the question and Hanna sighs.

"Ali, my best friend is back at the apartment pacing like a crazy woman. For the sake of everyone else in the complex, please come back before she wears a hole in the ground from pacing."

"I _can't_," Alison insists as her hands grip at Hanna's jacket deliberately. "I can't do anything right. I keep having nightmares, and I get jealous, and I dragged her into this mess-"

"_LISTEN _to me," Hanna orders her as she grabs Alisons hands and holds them still. She feels like she's lecturing a little kid so she reminds herself to calm down and take a deep breath before speaking again. "You did not drag Emily into anything. She really fucking cares about you, and you running away isn't going to solve anything. I've _never_ seen Emily this in love with anyone. She's not a heartless person, you know that! She's the most loving person I've ever met and she understands that this is difficult, Ali. It's difficult for her too. She needs you as much as you need her. So please for the love of God will you just come with me?"

x-x-x

Emily gave up on pacing eight minutes ago when Hanna texted her that she was on her way home- and the brunette knew that she had to have Ali with her. Because when Hanna claimed she wasn't coming back until she had Alison with her, Emily knew that was the truth.

So she fidgeted nervously on the couch, wondering what exactly to say to Alison. Maybe she should just tell her that she'll try harder to make this work, that she's sorry for making her feel like a problem, that can't stand to lose her-

The door flies open with a thud, and Emily jumps to her feet only to have a blur of blonde hair tackle her with a bear hug and death grip.

Her brown eyes widen as she keeps her balance and sees Hanna smirking in the doorway.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have left, I won't leave, I'm a little drunk but I mean it," Alison rambles and all of Emily's fears vanish instantly. "I'm just afraid because I don't want to hurt you. I love you Emily Fields, I fucking love you so much it fucking hurts."

Neither girl notices Hanna shut the door as she leaves. Emily sighs in relief as she leans her head against the blonde's forehead.

"How are we going to make this work?" Emily asks sincerely and notices Alison wince, so she grabs her chin gently and forces her to maintain eye contact. "Because I will do _anything_ to make it work. I love you too."

"We can make it work," Alison whispers eagerly. "I have an idea."

"Oh do you?" Emily asks with a smile as she sees the blue eyes sparkling with affection and hope.

"Yes, but," Alison starts to say before she leans in and kisses Emily furiously, her lips moving desperately against the brunette's. Her tongue slips past Emily's lips and explores her brunette's mouth hungrily, like she _needs_ Emily more than anyone or anything else in the world. Hanna had given her a good talking-to in the car, and she's ready to prove again to Emily just how much she really loves her. "I wanna say sorry."

"You're drunk," Emily points out as she pulls back, pleasantly surprised but a little reluctant.

"I'm fine," Alison insists. "I'm not _that_ drunk. Hanna sobered me up a bit."

When Emily still hesitates, Alison presses her body closer and rocks her hips into Emily urgently. "Emily, please," she whispers into her ear longingly.

Alison never has to beg her too much. The brunette can never resist her for too long. It doesn't take too much convincing before Emily carries Alison into their room and has her on her back, kissing her with intense need, her hands roaming up and down the petite blonde causing her to squirm with delight.

Emily slides her hands under Alison's shirt and cups the soft globes eliciting a whimper from the blonde as she arches her back.

The brunette flicks her thumb across her nipples teasingly before pushing the shirt up and kissing her way down Alison's abdomen reverently, her lips creating butterflies in Alison's tummy.

"God, Em," Alison gasps as Emily swirls her tongue around Ali's belly button and uses the distraction to pull her jeans and panties off.

There's a moment of pause as Emily hovers at Alison's glistening, wet folds but glances up to see Alison's blue eyes staring back at her lovingly.

The blonde is caught off guard by how much respect and care there is in the brunette's expression, and she concludes that nobody else could ever make her feel this safe. She nods, knowing Emily was silently asking permission and she is met with feelings of ecstasy as the brunette's tongue begins to lick her.

As Emily brings her to a feeling of pure euphoria, she closes her eyes and knows there's nobody else out there she'd rather be with, nobody but Emily.

x-x-x

"So Emily, what are you studying?"

The brunette sits rigidly on the couch near the arm rest, her posture stiff and her free hand digging into the fabric on the arm rest while the blonde next to her holds her other hand with both of hers. This was Alison's idea (inspired by Hanna's pep talk in the car) to help keep their relationship healthy. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't easy either- seeking help was something neither girl was good at.

"Business," Emily mumbles quietly.

"Good for you," Dr. Anne Sullivan nods while writing down on her notepad. "And you Alison?"

"I was going to start culinary school," she noted softly. Emily can feel her grip tighten. "But then…you know."

"I understand," the older woman nods continuously. "Will you consider going back to start school?"

"Yeah, at some point," Alison nods with a shaky breath.

"Ali bakes really yummy desserts," Emily adds with a nervous smile and she feels Alison squeeze her hand lovingly once more. The blonde thinks fondly on the fact that even after all that's happened, Emily still likes to tell people about her baking.

"You'll have to bring me a sample one day," Dr. Sullivan says kindly. "So girls, I know this is difficult but I need you to be open and honest okay? I will do my best to help you work your way through this if you do your best to be open and communicative with me."

Alison and Emily nod collectively.

"So, I have in my report here your statement about why you're here but I want you to tell me what pushed you to come. What have things been like in the aftermath?"

It's silent in the room for a minute before anybody speaks.

"Nightmares," Alison whispers almost inaudibly and Emily is surprised her girlfriend is volunteering to talk. "Every time I close my eyes I see Darren there or somebody I love is getting hurt or he's hurting me."

"Do you sleep at all?" Dr. Sullivan asks, jotting down notes.

"I don't think either of us sleep much," Emily chimes in quietly.

"What about you, Emily? What's it been like for you?"

Emily opens her mouth to speak but words don't come out. Alison looks at her nervously and nudges her with her head after a few moments of silence. The brunette looks at Alison with nervous eyes.

"You can be honest," Alison whispers sweetly.

"I just…it's been…hard…"  
>"How so?" Dr. Sullivan prods gently.<p>

"I feel guilty, and helpless," Emily admits in a very small voice. The other two are silent as if waiting for her continue, and so she struggles to. "I'm not impatient. I just wish I could do something to make her feel better."

She looks at Alison as she says that with apologetic eyes and the blonde shakes her head, grasping her hand tighter.

"And I wish I didn't feel like it was my fault that…Cece…"

"Em it wasn't," Alison reassures fiercely, interjecting. "I promise, I don't blame you for a second and neither would Cece."

"Emily why don't you go ahead and explain why?" Dr. Sullivan looks at the two of them kindly, and the brunette feels safe enough to speak again. She begins to talk, and one thing leads to another until-

x-x-x

"Are you mad?" the brunette asks softly as she cleans the last dish in the kitchen and turns to face a surprised Alison.

"No, definitely not mad," Alison shakes her head.

"You barely ate, and you've hardly said a word after we left Dr. Sullivan's office," Emily adds.

"It just tired me out, that's all," Alison admits with a small smile, which she hopes is reassuring to her sweet girl. "It feels good though, knowing how you see things. I feel like I can understand you better. I'm glad we managed to talk some of it out with the therapist."

The blonde approaches her until she can grab her face and kiss her softly. "I don't want to hurt you," Ali mumbles as she shakes her head. "I don't want to make some dumb mistake like that night and hurt you any more than I have."

"We'll get through this," Emily reassures and Alison feels her heart beat faster as she stares at the precious little grin spread across the brunette's gentle face.

"I love you, so much."

"I love you too."

"Show me," Alison dares her as she tilts her head up, her eyes sparkling with pure adoration, and presses her hips against Emily. The brunette gasps and hesitates for just a moment before she takes in the fact that Alison's eyes are fluttering and she can feel her warm breath on her lips. As she feels Emily's hands land on her waist, Alison knows it's honestly safe to say there's no place else she'd rather be- no place but with her.


	20. Prelude to Part 2

**Prelude to Part 2!**

**A/N:** I feel like I owe you guys. And so, ta da, here's the prelude to the next part of this story.

_x-x-x_

_10 months later…_

"You said, 'What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?'"

The sound of harsh breathing can be heard intermittently with little gasps as Emily torturously wiggles her ass in between Alison's legs in her lap as the blonde sits on one of the kitchen chairs, her jaw dropped wide open. Alison's mind feels like it can't focus on anything but the fact that her girlfriend appeared out of nowhere, dimmed the lights, and is wearing nothing but a lacy black bra and sheer thigh highs with a garter running up to the lacy panties exposing her gorgeous tan ass.

She groans involuntarily as Emily presses her ass against her center and she lets her own hands land on Emily's waist, maneuvering her so the brunette grinds harder into her.

"Remind me again what else I did," Alison pleads as Emily stands up and turns around to face her with a smirk. She had opted to remind Alison about the night they had met.

"You were such a tease," Emily whispers in her ear as she straddles her, both legs on either side of Alison, and she begins to slowly rock her hips so that her center grinds against Ali. Her tongue swirls around the inside of Alison's ear before trailing kisses down her jaw and Alison can only take so much before she grabs both sides of Emily's face and kisses her passionately, hungry for her girlfriend.

"Are you going to tease me, or are you going to touch me already?" Alison asks with a heated glance, her eyes drifting between Emily's delicious cleavage and her swollen lips.

"Oh I'm just getting started," Emily says with a playfully wicked grin as she slides her body down Alison's and back up again, procuring a moan from her horny blonde.

"I don't know if I can make it," Alison jokes throwing her head back, but she quickly whimpers as she feels Emily's lips attack her neck while her center continues to grind against her.

"You're wearing too many clothes," Emily mumbles as she licks at the bite mark she just gave Alison.

So she stands up and pulls Alison up, swiftly pinning her against the fridge as she pins her arms above her head and wiggles her body torturously against her.

"Someone's been practicing," Alison says with a smug grin and Emily blushes for just a second and looks at her shyly before continuing with her tease and puts on her bravado again.

"I came to impress," she says in her huskiest voice as her free hand roams down Alison to her jeans and plucks the button open. "So behave and let me."

"Yes, please," Alison moans, arching her back as Emily's fingers dance across her damp panties and tease her through the fabric. She will _never_ tire of dominant, in-control Emily. Watching her shy, kind and gentle girlfriend become a sexual animal in the bedroom (or in this case, the kitchen), turned her on like no other.

With one hand still holding Alison's above her head, and the other shoved in her pants, Emily grinds her almost bare body against Alison's and kisses her harshly, biting her lip and then sucking on it.

The blonde grinds her hips harder against Emily's fingers and whimpers when she feels them withdraw from her pants.

"Em," she whines but feels the slightly damp fingers trail up her shirt to her breasts. Alison slams her eyes shut as she feels the nimble fingers begin to flick her nipple while Emily's forehead is pressed against her, her warm breath hitting her face.

"You like being teased," Emily taunts as she pinches a little harder causing Alison to whimper and moan, leaning to capture Emily's lips but missing as the brunette moves back an inch out of reach.

"Admit it," Emily goads her on and Alison throws her head back.

"Fine, I love being teased," Alison admits and squeaks as Emily tweaks her other nipple hard and then runs her hand back down to her panties, still remaining above the fabric. Her fingers trace the wet folds through them and Alison tries to grind against Emily's fingers but the brunette keeps stilling them at any sign of Alison moving.

"Please," Alison begs and Emily grins, knowing she's got her girlfriend on the edge. "Please Em."

"What was that?"

"Please!" Alison moans as Emily presses against her clit.

"Please what?"

"Please just fuck me," Alison begs through a strangled whimper and Emily shakes her head.

"That was just crude," she jokes but drops to her knees and pulls Alison's jeans down with her panties in one swift motion.

"Crude? Really? Everything about this is—shit, holy fuck," Alison is cut off by the feeling of Emily's lips wrapping around her clit and sucking, her tongue flicking expertly against it.

Emily lets her tongue continue to tease Alison while her fingers slip into Alison, causing her knees to buckle and she has to steady herself against the fridge.

"Fuck, yes, right there," Alison moans as her hands slip into Emily's hair and she gradually grinds her hips against Emily's face, riding her tongue and her fingers.

Emily soon brings her to her climax and she rides out her orgasm with her eyes shut and moans spilling from her lips.

The room is silent except for their heavy breathing as Emily places a kiss against her before wiping her lips and Alison tries to catch her breath.

"That was-"

"Emily I brought over dinner and- holy fuck!"

Alison squeaks and Emily jumps to her feet as they both see Hanna staring with her jaw dropped at the door. Her face goes from shocked to deadpan in a matter of seconds.

"I told you I'd be over in five!"

"Turn around!" Emily yelps at the fact that Hanna is still standing there while Alison's underwear and pants are in a pool at her feet and her hair is disheveled in every direction.

"Oh please like I haven't walked in on you before," Hanna rolls her eyes and turns around, slamming the door on her way out. "Get dressed!"

The two hear her yell from outside and a deep laugh rips from Alison.

"Oh god," Alison chuckles as she runs a hand through her hair and Emily turns around with an un-amused face. "The poor girl has bad timing."

"She stared a little too long," Emily pouts and Alison smirks.

"I can't help it that your friend has a huge girl crush on me."

"I'll get her back," Emily growls.

"She has a girl crush on you too, so watch out," Alison teases as she kisses Emily's pout. "I'm going to go shower, you better entertain her."

Emily sighs and kisses her one more time before Alison saunters off towards their bedroom. "Oh and Em?"

The brunette turns to look at her expectantly.

"It's your turn later."

x-x-x

"So can you host Friendsgiving?" Hanna asks as she shovels Chinese food into her mouth.

"I'm sorry, say that again without spitting food everywhere," Emily teases as she wipes a speck of food off her face.

"You heard me bitch," Hanna laughs as she swallows her food. "Please? You're the only one with a big enough place."

Emily had managed to get a well-paid job at one of the newer corporations starting up near Rosewood, and so her and Alison had moved back to the town where all her friends had ended up back at as well. Luckily, Alison had attended a bit of culinary school and gotten a job as a pastry chef at The Grille. Ezra had offered her a position at his hotel restaurant but Alison didn't want to commute that far, and she wanted to live with Emily.

The two got a decent size townhouse in Rosewood, and now Hanna was proposing to have their friends Thanksgiving dinner at their place.

"I'm sure Alison would be fine with that," Emily acknowledges as she takes a bite of food.

"What would I be fine with?" Alison asks as she appears in nothing but a towel, her damp hair clinging to her.

"Do you ever wear clothes?" Hanna asks with a smirk.

"Only when necessary," Alison replies smoothly as she walks over to Emily and opens her mouth as if asking Em to feed her. Her girlfriend rolls her eyes and puts a piece of chicken in her mouth to which she hums happily and kisses the top of Emily's head gratefully.

"I was telling Emily we should have Friendsgiving at your place," Hanna continues and Alison's eyes light up. The opportunity to host sounds nice for once. It had been hard to have people over for a while, but Alison and Emily have finally begun to leave the events of Darren Wilden behind them in the past. It's taken a lot of therapy and work, but their relationship has indeed been healing. The two of them feel better than they ever have.

"That sounds so sweet," Alison says gleefully sitting on Emily's lap, interrupting her girlfriend's attempt at eating.

"Are you guys finally coming out with us tonight?" Hanna asks casually, ignoring the fact that she can see Emily's hand mischievously drifting up Alison's bare leg. The blonde grabs the hand gently and looks at Emily expectantly, waiting for her to answer. Hanna, Aria, and Spencer had been asking the two to go out week after week lately.

"It's a Thursday night," Emily sighs. "I work early tomorrow morning, you know that."

"Yolo," Hanna merely spits out with a serious look and Alison stifles a laugh as Emily rolls her eyes.

"I can't, I have a major presentation for clients tomorrow," Emily admits.

"Okay, so Alison you're gonna come right?"

"Me?" the blonde asks caught off guard. She hasn't been out by herself without Emily in a while. Granted, they went to work separately but they were each other's safety nets otherwise. It was almost borderline unhealthy, but they'd started giving each other distance before it got to that point. The two of them knew that Alison would be completely safe going out with Hanna and the girls, but both were still reluctant to.

"Yes you, come on! I need someone to have fun with while Grandma Spencer and Aria take forever to finish their first drinks."

"Hey don't go getting my girlfriend hammered," Emily scowls teasingly but the underlying protectiveness is there.

"Please Ali," Hanna begs.

Alison looks between the pouting blonde and her girlfriend. She sees Emily nod, and knows that she just wants for her to enjoy herself.

"Okay," Alison tells her slowly. "But I'm warning you, I might join Spencer and Aria in being a grandma tonight."

"Yeah, we'll see, not if I have anything to say about it!"

x-x-x

At 12:38 am, Emily yawns loudly, stretching at her desk in her bedroom. She glances at her clock to check the time and sighs knowing it could be a while before Hanna dropped Alison back off at the house.

The brunette goes to the bathroom to wash her face and change. The days have been getting longer due to the amount of work she's trying to get done before Thanksgiving next week. She's been up since four am, and she has to wake up again at five in a few hours. She'll get back around six, in time to see Alison after work, but she has a lot more work to accomplish tomorrow night as well. Luckily she also has the weekend, but she wants to get her work out of the way so she can enjoy it with Ali.

She wants to surprise the blonde with a nice dinner out since they haven't gone out in a while, but she has to get through the next day.

Her mind is exhausted, like the rest of her body. She goes through the motions of getting ready for bed and is so tired she doesn't remember falling asleep. At some point in the middle of the night, she's not sure when, she feels her phone vibrate next to her and her arm sleepily reaches for it and answers.

"Hello," Emily sleepily mumbles as if she's in a dream and she's not sure whether or not she is.

"Hey? Is this Emily?"

She barely recognizes Alison's voice on the other line, it doesn't register with her fully.

"Ali," she mumbles. "Are you home yet babe?"

"Uh no," Alison's voice sounds distant and Emily can barely hear her. Her brain doesn't process what's being said and she falls back asleep without hanging up.

At five thirty, Emily wakes up to an empty bed. She frowns and grabs for her phone on the bedside table and sees a few texts from Alison.

_Babe we're still out, are you awake? – 1:38 am_

_ Hanna's dancing on a table, I'm taking a video for you! :* - 2:40 am  
>I'm crashing at Aria's, I'll bring you lunch tomorrow at work babe. I love you, sleep well! -3:15 am<em>

She sighs and continues to get ready for work and forces herself to focus on the day.

x-x-x

"Ms. Fields somebody's here to see you," her co-worker winks at her as they walk by her office and she nods politely. Alison appears in the doorway, freshly showered with a smile on her face.

"Hi, darling," Alison purrs as she carries a bag of food and saunters over to Emily's desk. "Sleep well?"

"Kinda," Emily gives her a small smile and stands up, leaning over the desk to give Alison a quick kiss. "I'll sleep better when you're in bed with me."

"Same," Alison agrees. "Plus, Hanna snores loudly."

"Of course she does," Emily shakes her head with a light laugh. "Sorry I think I passed out on you when you called last night."

"I didn't call you," Alison frowns.

"Didn't you?" Emily asks, suddenly puzzled as she tries to remember. She distinctly remembers answering her phone.

"You got a call from a blocked number at two," Alison frowns as she goes through Emily's phone, having picked it up immediately to look through it.

"Strange," Emily muses for a minute before the smell of Alison's food distracts her.

"Who's calling you at two?" Alison asks, not so easily deterred as Emily starts to dig in the bag for food.

"Probably some telemarketer or something, I was so out of it," Emily admits. "Come on, let's eat."

Alison gives in, but in the back of her mind, something is unsettling. She feels an uneasy sensation pulling at her, and she can't shake it- doesn't know why a random phone call bothers her. But, she figures, she's just being paranoid because of her past. And nothing could get worse than that. Right?


End file.
